The National Library of Haiti was stormed by armed bandits, according to what the director general of the institution Dangelo Néard confirmed to the AFP news agency this Wednesday, April 3, 2024. The criminals were reported looting the institution’s furniture.
Armed gangs stormed the National Library, located in the capital Port-au-Prince. According to the director of the establishment, Dangelo Néard, the criminals were reported looting the institution’s furniture and also ransacked its generator. Rapid intervention by law enforcement was requested to contain the situation, but the preservation of precious documents, some dating back more than two centuries, remains threatened by these acts of vandalism.
“I was told that the thugs are taking away the institution’s furniture. They also ransacked the building’s generator. I alerted the police for rapid intervention,” declared Dangelo Néard. “We have rare documents, more than 200 years old, of heritage importance which risk being burned or damaged by bandits,” added the director of the library.
This attack comes after the vandalism and fire of the National School of Arts and the École Normale Supérieure, two institutions based in Port-au-Prince.
Haiti, plagued for decades by poverty, natural disasters, political instability and gang violence, continues to fight against these scourges which hamper its development.
In late February, powerful Haitian gang leaders, who now exercise considerable control over part of the capital, joined forces to attack various infrastructure, including police stations, prisons, the airport and the seaport , with the aim of putting pressure on Prime Minister Ariel Henry. The latter announced his upcoming resignation on March 11, thus paving the way for the formation of a transition council.
With AFP
