Gangs kill at least 12 Port-au-Prince residents, torch houses
Gangs directed by Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherisier killed at least 12 people and set houses on fire in Bel-Air, Port-au-Prince Monday night, according to Trip Foumi.
Residents fled to Champ-de-Mars, the city plaza, for safety in the attack that came three days after the shooting death of attorney Monferrier Dorval.
Published reports did not mention a reason for the killings and arson.
Cherisier, who has established himself as a fearful gang leader in Haiti, is a former police officer. Continue reading
Haiti on red alert after recent murders
Because of the recent murders, Haiti National Police (PNH) General Director Rameau Normil has placed the country on red alert Monday.
In the past four weeks, the country has seen at least 16 murders. The most high-profile killing is of Monferrier Dorval, head of the Port-au-Prince bar, who was killed in his home Aug. 28. Haiti is under a three-day mourning period as a result that will end Wednesday. Normil said police are investigating.
“No crime committed under my command will go unpunished,” Normil said. “In a short time, you will have the details concerning the first elements of the investigation.” Continue reading
Dorval’s death was a setup, human rights groups said
Six human rights organizations say the head of the Port-au-Prince bar, Monferrier Dorval, was shot dead in what appears to be “advantageous conditions” for a setup.
“The conditions were favorable,” the six organizations said in a joint note released Monday. “PNH regularly stationed at Pèlerin 5, but they relocated. They cut off the electricity for a few minutes, fireworks were launching.”
Dorval was killed Aug. 28 just hours after he said in a radio interview that the government needs to update the constitution. The human rights groups said he had faced various threats. Continue reading