Mob burns 13 suspected gang members alive in Haiti

A mob beat and burned 13 suspected gang members to death with gasoline-soaked tires Monday in the Haitian capital, after leading the men out of police custody at a traffic stop, police and witnesses said.

The terrible aggression highlighted the increasingly lawless situation in Port-au-Prince, where the criminal groups have taken control of approximately 60% of the city since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021.

The Haitian National Police said in a brief statement that officers from the Canape Vert section of the city stopped and searched a minibus for contraband and seized weapons from the suspects before they were “unfortunately lynched by members of the population.” The statement offered no further details on how the mob was able to take the suspects away.

A witness who gave his name as Edner Samuel told Associated Press that the crowd took the suspected gang members away, beat them and stoned them before putting tires on them, dousing them with gasoline and setting them on fire.

A reporter from the PA in the place he saw 13 corpses burning in a street. The flames drew hundreds of onlookers in the city’s mountainous suburb, many holding their noses from the fumes.

Samuel said the suspects were believed to be heading to another area of ​​the city to join a group of gang members who were clashing with police. Another witness, Jean Josue, said he had heard many shots in the area since dawn.

The situation in the capital remained tense and shots were heard from several neighborhoods.

Witnesses at the scene said the suspects were believed to be members of the Kraze Barye gang, which translates to “Breaking Barriers.” Authorities say the group is led by Vitel’Homme Innocent, accused of helping to kidnap 17 American missionaries in October 2021 and also linked to Moïse’s murder.

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