Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

#Haiti, August 29, 2023 – Haiti’s gangs continue to reign terror over the republic as at least seven people of hundreds of parishioners were shot and killed as they marched in a protest spearheaded by a church leader.

The parishioners, some armed with machetes, marched and protested through Canaan, a suburb in Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital, on Saturday August 26th, making efforts to bring about the end of gangs.

However, their efforts seemed to aggravate the gangs which reportedly opened fire on them with machine guns claiming the lives.

Canaan, founded by survivors of the cataclysmic earthquake of 2010, is said to be run by a gang led by a man identified as “Jeff” as reported by BBC.  He is said to be allied with 5 Segonn which translates to “5 Seconds” gang.

Given the circumstances, the pastor who organized the march is being blamed. Gédéon Jean, director of Haiti’s Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights, informed the Associated Press news agency that he watched the shooting online and planned to ask the Ministry of Justice to investigate.

Jean accused the pastor for being irresponsible as he  “engaged a group of people and put them in a situation like this,” a situation that put their life at risk, further expressing that the police should have stepped in and stopped them from going, highlighting that “it’s extremely horrible for the state to let something like this happen.”

According to Reuters, there are unverified videos on social media showing people being shot at in the street, bodies on the ground and people who seemed to be hostages, expressing that they thought the march was peaceful and wasn’t aware that it was about addressing the gang.

There are now fears of the death toll from the shooting increasing with several people wounded and others kidnapped.

In response to gangs which now control up to 80 percent of the capital, Haitians have organized a violent movement known as “bwa kale” which targets suspected gang members.  Now, more than 350 people have been killed since that uprising which started in April, according to the UN.