Fatshimetrie was recently the scene of clashes between Kenyan law enforcement and gangs in Port-au-Prince. The operation aimed to regain control of a building in an area of the capital under the control of the Viv Ansanm gang, led by Jimmy Chérizier, aka Barbecue.
Located in the Delmas 2 neighborhood, the building in question used to house offices of the Haitian National Police. After the Barbecue gang took control of the neighborhood three years ago, the building was evacuated.
In late November, Kenyan officers from the UN-backed Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) regained control of the building. However, they remain under constant fire from members of the Viv Ansanm gang, who have taken up positions in Delmas 2, just meters from the residence of the feared gang leader, Chérizier.
When they arrived in Haiti as part of a UN-backed mission earlier this year to combat gang violence, Kenyan police officers raised high hopes.
However, with 400 Kenyan officers and an underfunded and understaffed police force, gangs now control 85% of the capital.
Since the arrival of the international police mission, the crisis has worsened. The main airport was forced to close for the second time this year after gangs opened fire on commercial flights in mid-November, injuring a crew member.
Gunmen are also attacking once-peaceful neighbourhoods in an attempt to take control of the entire capital, taking advantage of the political infighting that led to the abrupt dismissal of the prime minister earlier this month.
Every day, Kenyans patrol the streets of the capital in armoured vehicles and face gang attacks in different parts of the city.
In a recent statement, the Kenyan-led mission stressed that it was “aware of the challenges that lie ahead.”
However, it noted that joint patrols and ongoing operations have helped secure some communities and forced gangs to change their ways of operating.
Godfrey Otunge, Kenya’s commander of the Multinational Security Support Mission, said in an interview with The Associated Press that the second phase of the operation would begin before Christmas.
“The gangs’ days are numbered and we will hunt them day and night,” Otunge said.
At least 150 people were reported killed in the capital and 20,000 were forced to flee their homes in the second week of November alone.
In total, more than 4,500 people have been reported killed in Haiti this year, the U.N. said.