Haiti’s international airport has shut down after gangs opened fire at a flight landing in Port-Au-Prince, prompting some airlines to suspend operations as the country swore in a new interim prime minister who promised to restore peace.
The Spirit Airlines flight headed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Port-Au-Prince was just hundreds of feet from landing in Haiti's capital when gangs shot at the plane striking a flight attendant, who suffered minor injuries, according to the airline, the US Embassy and flight tracking data.
The flight was diverted to the Dominican Republic.
Photos and videos obtained by The Associated Press show bullet holes dotting the interior of a plane.
The shooting appeared to be part of what the US Embassy called “gang-led efforts to block travel to and from Port-au-Prince which may include armed violence, and disruptions to roads, ports, and airports.”
Spirit, JetBlue and American Airlines said Monday they were cancelling flights to and from Haiti.
In other parts of Haiti’s capital, firefights between gangs and police broke out. Rounds of gunfire echoed through the streets as heavily armed officers ducking behind walls and civilians ran in terror.
In other upper class areas, gangs set fire to homes. Schools closed as panic spread in a number of areas.
The turmoil comes a day after a council meant to re-establish democratic order in the Caribbean nation fired the interim prime minister Garry Conille, replacing him with businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aimé. The council has been marked by infighting and three members were recently accused of corruption.
As he was sworn in, Fils-Aimé said his top priorities were to restore peace to the crisis-stricken nation and hold elections, which haven’t been held in Haiti since 2016.
“There is a lot to be done to bring back hope" he said before a room of diplomats and security officials.
“I'm deeply sorry for the people ... that have been victimised, forced to leave everything they own.”
Armed gangs in Haiti's capital have shot at aircraft in recent weeks as the security situation deteriorates. Last month, a UN helicopter was hit by gunfire over Port-au-Prince.
The country has seen weeks of political chaos, which observers warned could result in even more violence in a place where bloodshed has become the new normal.
The United Nations estimates that gangs control 85 per cent of the capital of Port-au-Prince, while a UN-backed mission led by Kenyan police to quell gang violence struggles with a lack of funding and personnel, prompting calls for a UN peacekeeping mission.
Louis-Henri Mars, executive director of Lakou Lapè, an organisation working on peace building in violent areas of Haiti, said the political fighting has "allowed the gangs to have more freedom to attack more neighbourhoods and expand their control of Port-au-Prince.
Civilians, he fears, will suffer the consequences.
“There will be more lives lost, more internal displacement, and more hunger in a country where half the population is on the brink of starvation,” he said.
with AP
