Masses flee homes in Haiti as gangs ratchet up violence amid political turmoil

Associated Press

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Masses of residents are fleeing a running battle between gang members and police in one of the few neighborhoods of Haiti’s capital that hadn’t already been fully taken over by the gangs. It was part of a surge of violence this week as gangs capitalize on the country’s political turmoil. Families frantically packed mattresses and furniture into cars and carried their belongings on their heads as they left the Solino neighborhood on Thursday. Solino is one of a handful of areas in Port-au-Prince where a coalition of gangs called Viv Ansanm and police were locked in a violent firefight in recent days.