PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Police on Monday clashed with gunmen trying to take over one of the few communities in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, that is not controlled by gangs.
Solino has been under attack since Thursday, with residents calling radio stations pleading for help as they fled their homes. Officers seized control of several areas as they keep pursuing gang members, Haiti’s National Police said in a statement late Sunday.
In a video posted on social media, gang members hoisted automatic weapons in the air and cheered as they claimed control over parts of Solino, warning that all those who are not part of a gang coalition known as “Viv Ansanm” will be “burned to ashes.”
The coalition also has attacked other neighborhoods, including Tabarre 27, with the attacks forcing more than 4,200 people to flee, according to a report the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration released Monday.
More than 60% of those left homeless moved into already crowded makeshift shelters hosting others who lost their homes in recent years to gang violence. Others sought refuge at a school, a church and a health center, according to the report.
Gangs that control 80% of Port-au-Prince also have threatened journalists covering the most recent attacks, calling them out by name and ordering that they be killed.
Viv Ansanm, which means “Living Together,” formed in September 2023, creating a coalition between two large gang federations that were enemies. It was responsible for launching large-scale attacks on critical government infrastructure starting in February, eventually leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
The coalition also has unified to fight a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police to quell gang violence in Haiti that began earlier this year.
After the coalition was formed, armed clashes between gangs fell by 78% from March to August, compared with the previous six months, according to a report published this month by ACLED, a U.S. nonprofit that collects data on violent conflicts worldwide.
“The consolidation of the Viv Ansanm alliance has enabled gangs to focus their resources on criminal activities and confrontations with security forces, rather than engaging in infighting,” it said.
The report also warned that “despite the volatile relationships among gang members, Viv Ansanm is likely to endure as long as it faces the shared threat of an international security force.”
Police in Haiti battle a gang coalition trying to seize control of the entire capital
Soldiers patrol amid the sound of gunshots heard in the distance, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Police in Haiti battle a gang coalition trying to seize control of the entire capital
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit Monday, hours after a Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian capital and as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushes Western partners to keep providing military support for the war.
Austin said on the X platform that his fourth visit shows “that the United States, alongside the international community, continues to stand by Ukraine.”
Ukraine is having difficulty holding back a ferocious Russian campaign along the eastern front that is gradually compelling Kyiv’s forces to give up a series of towns, villages and hamlets.
Zelenskyy is urging Western allies to support his so-called “victory plan” to end the almost three-year war, which is Europe’s biggest since World War II and has cost tens of thousands of lives on both sides, including many civilians.
His strategy includes a formal invitation for Ukraine to join NATO and permission to use Western long-range missiles to strike military targets in Russia — steps that Kyiv’s allies have previously balked at supporting.
The Western response has been lukewarm, and Austin was expected to discuss the plan with Ukrainian officials in Kyiv.
Zelenskyy said in a Sunday evening video address that his plan had won the backing of France, Lithuania, Nordic countries and “many other allies” in the European Union, which he didn’t name.
The key country, however, is the United States, which is Ukraine’s biggest military supplier.
Zelenskyy said he had received “very positive signals from the United States,” but he stopped short of saying he had secured Washington’s endorsement for the plan.
Analysts say the U.S. is unlikely to make a decision before the Nov. 5. presidential election.
The latest Russian strikes on Ukraine, targeting Kyiv, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia, rammed home the urgency for Kyiv officials of clinching guarantees of more support, particularly large amounts of ammunition for the war of attrition the sides are engaged in.
A Russian missile attack on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia injured 14 people in the city center and caused huge damage to civilian infrastructure, including a kindergarten and more than 30 residential buildings, regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov said.
Russia conducted a ballistic missile strike at Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy’s hometown, injuring five people, city administration head Oleksandr Vilkul wrote on social media.
According to Vilkul, Russia has conducted ballistic missile attacks on Kryvyi Rih for three consecutive days, injuring the total of 21 people and damaging dozens of residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.
Machine gunfire and the noise of drones’ engines was also heard in Kyiv’s center throughout the night. Authorities reported minor damages to civilian infrastructure caused by falling drone debris in three districts.
Russia fired three missiles and more than 100 drones at Ukraine overnight from Sunday to Monday, Ukraine's air force said.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha met with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Ankara on Monday to discuss cooperation between their countries.
According to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, the meeting focused on strengthening strategic relations, defense cooperation and addressing global food security through Black Sea grain shipments from Ukraine that pass through Turkey’′ Bosphorus Strait.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to steer a balanced line in his NATO-member country’s close relations with both Ukraine and Russia. He has previously offered to host a peace summit between the two countries.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
In this photo provided by the Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine on October 21, 2024, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, centre right, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, centre left, attend their meeing in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine via AP)
In this photo provided by the Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine on Oct. 21, 2024, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, right, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on Oct. 21, 2024, a rescue worker extinguishes a fire at a house destroyed by a Russian strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on Oct. 21, 2024, rescue workers clear the rubble of a house destroyed by a Russian strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency workers clear the rubble after Russia attacked the city with guided bombs overnight in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency workers clear the rubble after an overnight Russian attack with guided bombs in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency workers clear the rubble after Russia attacked the city with guided bombs overnight in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, a Russian self-propelled mortar Nona-SVK fires towards Ukrainian positions at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
