Gangs in Haiti open fire and hit a UN helicopter in mid-air as violence increases

Soldiers patrol amid the sound of gunshots heard in the distance in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on October 17. (AP)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Oct 26 (AP): Gangs opened fire and hit a UN helicopter, forcing it to land in Port-au-Prince in the latest attack in Haiti’s capital as violence continues increases again. No one was injured when several shots struck the helicopter carrying three crew members and 15 passengers, according to a UN source who was not authorized to confirm the incident.

The helicopter, which had taken off from Port-au-Prince before it was attacked, landed safely, the source said. The attack comes five months after Haiti’s main international airport reopened following coordinated gang attacks, forcing the airport to close for almost three months. The violence has spread to nearby areas including Arcahaie, where around 50 suspected gang members were killed this week after an attack on the coastal town just northwest of the capital.

The dead include at least a dozen gunmen who drowned after their boat capsized, a government official said Thursday. While the majority were killed by police, a group of armed men drowned on Wednesday after their boat hit the reef while carrying ammunition to gangs attacking the town of Arcahaie, said Wilner Réné of Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency.

He told Radio Caraïbes that the attack started on Monday, with gunmen setting fire to houses and cars across Arcahaie. When the gangs ran out of ammunition, they hid in nearby areas and were sought out by residents and police, he said. The attack is still ongoing and Réné warned that officers on the ground urgently need reinforcement from soldiers and special police units.

The attack has been blamed on a gang coalition called Viv Ansanm, which has also targeted communities in Port-au-Prince in recent days. These attacks have displaced more than 10,000 people in the capital in just one week, according to a report released Thursday by the UN’s International Organization for Migration.

More than half of the homeless were housed in fourteen makeshift shelters, including schools. The rest are temporarily staying with family. The spike in gang violence comes just months after a UN-backed mission led by Kenyan police began aiming to quell the wave of violence from gangs, which control more than 80% of Port-au-Prince.