News
and opinions on situation in Haiti |
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| 8/7/06 |
Coup d’etat Lame Timanche victims’ count mounts to almost 40 dead for July 6, 2006 |
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Date: 8 July 2006 ********************************** – UN Troops find 16 bodies in Haiti – Twenty killed in gang fighting in Haitian slum ********************************** Ezili Danto’s Note: Last night, between 3, 4 and 5am, a group of heavily armed pro-coup d’etat terrorist, known as “Lame Ti manchet” went up to Gran Ravine and attacked the sleeping population. Our Ezili Danto Witness Project preliminary report indicates that close to 40 Haitians were killed; amongst those dead are children, mothers and men as old 65years. Houses were set to fire and many died in the flames. The count, we are told is much more than 20 because many are missing and the numerous families our correspondent interview could not find their loved ones. They have though, on several occasions, found blood marks at their houses where bodies were dragged out of the house leaving stains but no corpse. Reportedly these coup d?etat assassins, called “lame timanchet” are well known and believed to be protected by the police. They arrived well armed and blew people’s heads off, cut others with machetes and set houses on fire in the dead of night. The mainstream press headlines are facilely dismissing the massacre as “gang violence.” See, for example to conflicting version of Pierre L’esperance statement below and the difference between Reuters headline and their reporting of the event: “The people who died were civilians, not gang members,” said Pierre Esperance, a local human rights activist whose National Coalition for Haitian Rights has monitored gang activity in the area. (Excerpt for “Haiti gang violence kills 16, July 8. 2006 Makka Time) and, “ The victims apparently were shot to death in an hours-long gunfight among Haitian gang members fighting for control of the area, said Pierre Esperance, a local human rights activist.” ( U.N. troops find 16, bodies in Haiti by the Associated Press, July 7, 2006) “It was not immediately clear if those killed in Martissant were gang members or residents caught in the cross-fire from the latest outbreak of violence in the impoverished Caribbean nation.” (”Twenty killed in gang fighting in Haitian slum” Reuters, July 8, 2006) Ezili Danto ********* Haiti gang violence kills 16 Saturday 08 July 2006, 2:52 Makka Time, 23:52 GMT At least 16 people have been killed in clashes between armed gangs in the capital of Haiti, a United Nations official says. UN peacekeepers found the bodies of 16 people in the southern Port-au-Prince quarter of Martissant. The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and the Haitian national police force sent teams to the area in an attempt to control the situation. “The people who died were civilians, not gang members,” said Pierre Esperance, a local human rights activist whose National Coalition for Haitian Rights has monitored gang activity in the area. The battle began on Thursday evening and continued into Friday, according to Haitian police force spokesman Mario Andresol. “The police force is aware of the developments and taking measures to control the situation,” Andresol said. Established in 2004 and under Brazilian command, the UN team includes about 7,500 military troops and 2,000 international police. MINUSTAH was sent to stabilise the Caribbean nation after the former president Jean Bertrand Aristide fled a popular uprising in 2004. In May a new government was sworn in promising to reduce the violence. *********************** www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/14990755.htm PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – U.N. peacekeepers on Friday found the bodies of 16 people believed killed in a surge of gang violence, the latest sign the Caribbean nation’s capital may be slipping back into disorder after months of relative calm. The troops from Sri Lanka the bodies in the southern Port-au-Prince slum of Martissant, a U.N. statement said. The slum was the site of a recent spate of gunbattles between warring gangs. The victims apparently were shot to death in an hours-long gunfight among Haitian gang members fighting for control of the area, said Pierre Esperance, a local human rights activist. The dead were civilians, not gang members, said Esperance, whose National Coalition for Haitian Rights has monitored gang activity in slums. The Brazil-led U.N. peacekeeping force stepped up patrols where the bodies were found. Many residents fled the area for fear of more attacks, local radio reported. The military forces in the area have increased their patrols to protect the population and prevent more acts of violence, the U.N. statement said. The deaths were the latest in a series of killings and kidnappings that have gripped Haiti’s tense capital in the weeks since the June inauguration of President Rene Preval. Recent violence has raised fears of a return to the mayhem following a 2004 revolt that toppled then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. ******************************************** Twenty killed in gang fighting in Haitian slum PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Reuters) – About 20 people died in clashes between rival gangs fighting a turf war in one of the Haitian capital’s violent slums, a senior police official said on Friday. Michael Lucius, director of the judicial police, said the bloodletting occurred Thursday night and early Friday in the Martissant neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince, where the victims died of gunshot wounds or were hacked to death with machetes. “We have sent a team to the scene of the incidents and about 20 deaths are reported,” Lucius told Reuters, saying he was still waiting for a detailed report. “We are doing all we can to try to control this situation,” he added. It was not immediately clear if those killed in Martissant were gang members or residents caught in the cross-fire from the latest outbreak of violence in the impoverished Caribbean nation. One of the armed groups engaged in the violence, known as “Lame Ti Manchet”, Haitian creole for Small Machetes Army, was formed over the past 1-1/2 years under the interim administration that replaced former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was ousted in a 2004 revolt. The group is widely believed to have cooperated at times with elements of the Haitian police in crackdowns on groups loyal to Aristide in Martissant. ******************************************** |
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