PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haitian authorities vowed Friday to continue the fight against criminal armed gangs who this week plunged the volatile Caribbean nation into a new crisis after their “targeted” armed attacks left 14 cops dead in less than two weeks.
Urging officers not to to be manipulated by those seeking to fuel further instability, Haiti National Police Chief Frantz Elbe called for “calm and serenity.” He also announced a series of measures to reinforce police substations throughout the country and better equip officers, many of whom expressed anger over the deaths by taking to the streets Thursday in violent protests.
Since July 2021, 78 police officers have been murdered, an average of five officers a month, Haiti’s National Human Rights Defense Network said.
