13 suspected gang members burnt alive by mob in Haiti

The Haitian police have confirmed the lynching of 13 suspected members of a deadly gang in the capital, Port-au-Prince, by a mob on Monday.

The suspects were reportedly beaten to a pulp and covered with gasoline-soaked tyres before being set alight, the police say.

National Police spokesperson, Gary Desrosiers, said the violence started before dawn when gang members burst into several residential areas of the capital, looting homes and attacking residents in the Canape-Vert district.

Desrosiers said that the lynched persons were a group of armed bandits traveling in a vehicle in the capital, and the police had sought to arrest them.

He also confirmed that in a separate incident, a notorious crime boss Carlo Petithomme. who led a gang known as Ti Makak, was also killed by a mob.

READ ALSO:Two Haitian journalists burned alive by gang

“During a search of a minibus in which there were armed individuals, the police confiscated weapons and other equipment. In addition, more than a dozen individuals traveling in this vehicle were unfortunately lynched by members of the population,” the police spokesman said in a statement.

The lynchings, according to residents, is coming after days of violent confrontations between gang members and security personnel.

“It was the sound of projectiles that woke us up this morning. It was 3:00 am, the gangs invaded us. There were shots, shots,” a resident of the neighboring district of Turgeau told reporters.

“If the gangs come to invade us, we will defend ourselves, we too have our own weapons, we have our machetes, we will take their weapons, we will not flee,” another resident was quoted.

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