More than 50 dead, 100 wounded in Haiti gang violence 

Gang violence has left more than 50 people dead, and over 100 wounded over the weekend in Haiti’s capital, a local mayor reported on Monday, as gang violence continues to escalate in the Caribbean nation. 

The gun battles over the weekend in Port-au-Prince were concentrated in the impoverished suburb of Cite Soleil. The Mayor for Cite Soleil, Joel Janeus, said that 50 out of the 100 wounded are in critical condition. 

"People who were hunkering down during the shootings, the bullets went through their roofs and killed them," Janeus said in a telephone interview. "People who are trying to flee the (area), they get hit by bullets."

Gangs also blocked access to the Varreux fuel terminal, one of the country’s mail fuel ports, according to the Haitian newspaper Le Nouvellist. 

The violence that took place this weekend seems to be the result of a confrontation between the G9 and GPEP gangs. Police operations are likely to increase until criminal activity decreases and the Varreux terminal is able to operate. 

Gang violence in Haiti has significantly increased since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise last year, which has left a political vacuum and power struggle in the country and gangs fighting to expand their territories. On Thursday, Haiti commemorated the anniversary of the assassination.

With the increased violence has come a rise in kidnappings, murders, and rapes, as well as shootouts and fires that have caused many to become displaced.

In May, rights activities said that at least 148 people had died from clashes between the Chen Mechan and 400 Mawozo gangs. Several of the victims were cut into pieces with machetes, while others were raped or burned alive.