STREETS OF BLOOD
Haiti warlord ‘Barbecue’ orders gangs to ‘burn every house you find’ & storm presidential palace amid bloody coup fears
The gangsters have turned a main hospital into a fortress to launch attacks on the palace and police
HAITI'S capital has been rocked by a fresh wave of violence as warlord Barbecue ordered his thug army to "burn every house you find".
Gun battles are raging in central Port-au-Prince as ruthless gangs march towards the presidential palace - burning, looting and killing - amid fears they are plotting a bloody coup.
11
11
11
11
Officials now believe that 90 per cent of the capital is controlled by once warring gangs who loosely unified to spark a new dawn of violence at the end of February.
At the centre of the storm is Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier, the head of Haiti's most powerful gang alliance and now leader of the armed onslaught against his home city.
Two voice recordings are circulating on social media which locals claim is Barbecue ordering his soldiers to burn houses down in Lower Delmas, an impoverished part of the capital where he grew up.
"Continue burning the houses. Make everybody leave," a man says in the first audio recording.
read more on haiti
In another, he says he has sent jugs of gasoline: "No need to know which house. Burn every house you find. Set the fire."
Residents have reported houses on fire, while local radio station Tele Galaxie said the neighbourhood had turned into "a battlefield between police and armed gangs".
Meanwhile, heavy gunfire was reported close to the National Palace - a site Barbecue has long had in his sights.
For weeks, the gangs under his command have been marching towards the heavily-fortified official residence of the president, taking neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood.
Most read in The Sun
The criminal kingpin, who reportedly earned his nickname for burning victims alive, warned more bloodshed would be coming in late March.
So far this month, Barbecue has helped launch brutal, coordinated attacks on police stations, public buildings and state facilities, while blockading its port and airport.
Haiti warlord Barbecue warns 'more bloodshed coming' in 'world's most dangerous city' & tells foreign troops to back off
The ruling gangs have said their siege on the capital is a battle to oust interim PM Ariel Henry, but since he agreed to stand down, attacks on the capital have only increased.
Bloodthirsty Barbecue has previously said he would consider a ceasefire, as well as peace and political talks, as long as he and his gangs are included in the process.
But analysts say he is battling for complete control of the small Caribbean island nation of 11 million.
As part of their plan to take the palace, the gun-wielding thugs took over the State University Hospital next-door and turned it into a fortress base to launch further attacks.
The newest violence comes ahead of the installation of a transitional council set to usher in a new government after three years of political instability.
What is happening in Haiti?
HAITI has been under a state of emergency since March 4 after heavily armed gangs have laid siege to the capital in a bid to overthrow the government.
Bodies are piling up on the streets of Port-au-Prince which is engulfed in an all-out civil war between more than 200 merciless gangs, a weak police force and recently citizen-led death squads.
Amid the lawless carnage, there are widespread reports of murder, rape, arson and kidnappings as the once warring gangs have loosely unified to lead coordinated attacks.
In early March, Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier, the leader of Haiti's most powerful gang alliance, G9, declared the nation’s ruthless gangs unite to oust interim PM Ariel Henry.
Barbecue - who is famed for burning his victim's alive - has helped lead attacks on the main airport, the country's two largest jails, fuel depots and police stations, paralysing the country.
PM Henry has remained stranded abroad and agreed to stand down on March 11. But the violence did not subside.
Instead, the gangs have sought to exploit the chaos to take more territory - with reports stating they now control over 90 per cent of Port-au-Prince.
Gun battles rage on streets, residents have barricaded themselves in their homes and half of Haiti's population is struggling to feed themselves.
The newest wave of violence to hit the disaster-struck country has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands.
According to the UN, the small Caribbean nation is now at breaking point.
11
11
11
City under siege
For more than two years, warring factions have been tearing Port-au-Prince apart and turned every day into a fight for survival.
But Haiti has been rocked by a surge of unrest since the end of February when armed groups raided a prison, releasing more than 5,000 inmates, and demanded Prime Minister Ariel Henry resign.
Port-au-Prince has been engulfed in an all-out civil war between more than 200 gangs, a weak police force and more recently citizen-led death squads.
The state has been largely absent during the violence and Haiti's outmanned and outgunned police are ill-equipped against the gangs which are seeking to expand their territorial control of the capital city.
Plans for an international security mission, requested by Henry in 2022, remain on hold pending a new government.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
But as the Caribbean nation reels under a state of emergency, civilians have been heavily caught in the crossfires and the violence has killed thousands and displaced tens of thousands.
The UN estimates that over 360,000 people are internally displaced and millions are going hungry as key ports and supply routes remain blocked.
11
11
11
11