PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A heavily armed gang stormed a hospital in Haiti on Wednesday and took hundreds of women, children and newborns hostage, according to the medical center’s director who pleaded for help on social media.
José Ulysse, founder and director of the Fontaine Hospital Center in the sprawling Cité Soleil slum in the capital of Port-au-Prince, confirmed the incident in a brief exchange of messages with The Associated Press. “We are in great difficulty,” he said.
No further details were immediately available and it was unclear why the attackers may have taken the patients hostage. Ulysse did not respond to further questions for comment.
The hospital is considered an oasis and a lifeline in a community overrun by gangs that have unleashed increasingly violent attacks on each other, and civilians living in Cité Soleil are routinely raped, beaten or murdered.
Another view of the Fontaine Hospital Center in Cité Soleil.REUTERS Families wait to receive medical care at the Fontaine Hospital Center.REUTERS
Ulysse identified those responsible as members of the Brooklyn gang, led by Gabriel Jean-Pierre, better known as “Ti Gabriel.” Jean-Pierre is also the leader of a powerful gang alliance known as G-Pep, one of two rival coalitions in Haiti.
The Brooklyn gang has about 200 members and controls certain communities within Cité Soleil, including Brooklyn. According to a recent UN report, they are involved in extortion, kidnapping of property and general violence against civilians.
📣Depi aprè lanmò Isca Andrice, Chèf gang katye « Belekou » a, katouch pa sispann chante nan komin Site Solèy🇭🇹ak zòn ki antourel yo. Ekip ki gen nan tèt li «Ti Gabriel» nan katye Brooklyn, ap eseye pran kontwòl divès zòn ki te anba pouvwa Isca. Se ka pou lokalite « Pyèsis,… pic.twitter.com/CL61K1JCM5
— Luckson Saint-Vil journalist (@LuckNews88) November 15, 2023
“The G-Pep coalition and its allies strongly reinforced cooperation and diversified their income, in particular through kidnappings for ransom, which allowed them to strengthen their fighting capacity,” the report states.
When The Associated Press visited Fontaine Hospital Center earlier this year, Ulysse said in an interview that gangs had personally attacked him twice before.
A family sits in front of a UNICEF banner in the hospital.REUTERS
Gangs across Haiti have continued to become more powerful since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, and the number of kidnappings and murders continues to rise.
Earlier this year, at least 20 armed gang members stormed a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders and kidnapped a patient from an operating room. The criminals gained access after faking a life-threatening emergency, the organization said.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn