The damage is considerable, according to some local residents interviewed on site by AyiboPost
On the afternoon of Sunday March 24, 2024, heavily armed bandits spread columns of fire, ransacking infrastructure at the bottom of the city of Port-au-Prince.
More than a dozen depots, storing among other things mattresses, as well as pharmacies and local residents’ houses scattered in several streets near the palace and the National Penitentiary, suffered the destructive ravages of the flames.
More than five arteries were hit by the fire, including rue Monseigneur Guilloux, rue de la Réunion, du Center and de l’Enterrement, among others.
Not far from the National Palace, garages along Rue de la Réunion are reduced to ashes by armed bandits. March 25, 2024. | © Jean Feguens Regala/AyiboPost
The damage is considerable, according to some local residents met and interviewed by AyiboPost.
On March 25, 2024, a man alerted mechanics in order to save the only vehicle remaining in a garage.
Michel carried out his mechanical activities on Rue de la Réunion. After the onslaught of flames, the man, visibly in his thirties, explained to AyiboPost that he had suffered enormous losses.
“I lost my work tools, cars that I repaired for customers and my goods,” he laments.
On March 25, 2024, a mechanic tries to recover certain elements from vehicles that were set on fire by bandits the day before.
On March 25, 2024, a mechanic tries to save some parts from vehicles set on fire by bandits the day before.
On March 25, 2024, a mechanic works to preserve certain components of vehicles that were destroyed the day before by fires caused by armed bandits.
Because of the insecurity, Michel had already left the plain where he took up residence in disaster to establish his quarters in the commune of Port-au-Prince.
Also discover: Pictures | Eight days of terror in Haiti
“The bandits have surrounded the area. They looted and took away mattresses that were in the warehouses before setting them on fire,” he said.
The day after the tragedy, a smell of burning lingers in the air and a gloomy desolation reigns in the arteries of the city center.
The completely deserted streets leave a spectacle of cars reduced to piles of charred scrap metal. Rue de la Réunion also reveals the picture of an overflow of houses that the plumes of smoke have reduced to ruins.
March 25, 2024: view of Rue de la Réunion where bandits set fire, among others, around the First Baptist Church of Port-au-Prince.
“The attack started around four or five in the evening,” informs a local resident met by AyiboPost who, under fire from the detonations, did not have time to provide his identity to the newspaper.
Working in a carwash on Rue de la Réunion, the man deplores the untenable situation he currently faces.
“The fire took away everything I had. I don’t know how I will be able to continue my activities,” he thunders, his throat tight with barely contained rage.
The streets adjacent to the National Palace are also empty. Some residents of the area, individually, are carrying around some car parts that have defied the flames. A short distance away, other people, packed suitcases on their heads, hasten their pace to try to put miles between their families and the scene of a new disaster, which has become a news item in Port-au-Prince.
On March 25, 2024, citizens fled the lower part of the city of Port-au-Prince due to the attack by armed bandits the day before.
The Nau Brothers Mixed College, several clinics and pharmacies near the Hospital of the State University of Haiti (HUEH), suffered the rage of the flames. And the National School of Arts (ENARTS), one of the largest centers of arts education in the country, appears to have been partially vandalized. AyiboPost tried without success to contact the officials of the institution.
Several vehicles were set on fire around the Champ de Mars during the first attack against the Port-au-Prince police station, on the evening of March 8, 2024.
This tragedy in the city center occurs in a context of recurring attacks perpetrated against neighborhoods and infrastructure in Port-au-Prince by the coalition of gangs called “Viv ansanm”, under the leadership of former police officer Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier .
On March 8, 2024, bandits attempted to set fire to the building of the Ministry of the Interior and Territorial Communities (MICT), and the next day, flames were visible on part of the building.
The police blocked the streets around the National Palace, notes AyiboPost on March 9, 2024.
On March 25, 2024, citizens fled the lower part of the city of Port-au-Prince due to the incendiary assault of armed bandits.
More than 33,000 people have fled their homes in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Par Jean Feguens Gifts et Junior Legrand
Cover image: A mechanic tries to recover some parts of the vehicles that were set on fire by bandits on Sunday March 24/Port-au-Prince. | © Jean Feguens Regala/AyiboPost
Keep in touch with AyiboPost via:
► Our channel Telegram : Click here
► Our Channel WhatsApp : Click here
► Our Community WhatsApp : Click here
