Several gangs in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince have launched massive attacks on at least three police stations, leading police and palace guards to fight back and try to retake some streets as the Haiti crisis continues to grip the Caribbean nation.

The guards from the National Palace were backed up by an armored truck as they tried to set up a security perimeter around one of the downtown stations that were attacked by the gangs. Police managed to fight off the attacks that happened late Friday.

One woman was hit by a stray bullet in her leg on the sidewalk in downtown Port-au-Prince as sporadic gunfire continued until Saturday, as these gang attacks became more brazen as the Haiti crisis continues.

Haiti continues to be paralyzed by gang violence, with Haitian officials extending a state of emergency and nightly curfew on Thursday. According to the Associated Press, supplies in the country are now swindling, and gangs are attacking key state institutions.

With the latest attacks across the country, Caribbean leaders held an emergency CARICOM meeting in Jamaica on Monday, along with representatives from the United States, France, Canada, Brazil, and the United Nations. They discussed Haiti's "dire" situation.

It has been noted that CARICOM member countries have been trying to get other countries to "get political actors in Haiti to agree to form an umbrella transitional unity government." However, everyday Haiti citizens have stated that they cannot wait anymore as bloody fighting across the streets has forced many to lock themselves inside their homes as supplies continue to dwindle.

Food and Water Shortages Complicate Haiti Crisis Further as Gangs Continue Fighting

It is not just gang violence that is gripping Haiti right now, as a food crisis is also looming. The Associated Press reported that "Rotting fruit, withered vegetables, empty water jugs and spent gas canisters now stock the stores and stands that serve Haiti's poor," with this being caused by the unrelenting gang violence.

The gang violence has become so bad that the main port in Port-au-Prince has been closed down and thus has stranded containers of food and medical supplies, further complicating the growing food scarcity in the country as many find it difficult to feed themselves.

In some of the more upscale portions of the city, the groceries remain stocked. However, the prices remain out of reach for the vast majority of Haitians, with a vast majority only earning less than $2 a day.

Foreigners Trapped in Haiti Desperately Try To Find a Way Out

Meanwhile, as the Haiti crisis deepens, foreigners who were living in the country found themselves caught up in it. Now, they are trying to escape as gangs continue to attack not just each other but also the government.

"We are seriously trapped," Canadian citizen Richard Philips told the AP. He went to Haiti for a Haitian nonprofit called Papyrus and has been in the country many times before for the UN and USAID. He was in the city of Les Cayes to teach farmers and others how to operate and repair tractors and other farming machinery.

However, as he tried to flee the country amid the violence, he found himself trapped when his flight was canceled, and gunfire was heard near the hotel he stayed in. He has since moved to a safer area but admitted that he and other foreigners trapped in the country remain concerned about the anarchy going on in the streets.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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