Armed gangs control about 85 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince, according to the UN.
Thousands of Haitians have taken to the streets of Port-au-Prince to express their anger against armed gangs that control nearly all of the capital and its surrounding areas and the government’s failure to hold them off.
Since mid-February, Haiti has seen a resurgence of gang violence. Gangs, which control about 85 percent of Port-au-Prince, according to the United Nations, have stepped up attacks in several neighbourhoods previously beyond their control, spreading terror among the population.
The violent groups have united behind a coalition known as Viv Ansanm and forced more than one million people from their homes, which has contributed to a freezing of the economy and has fuelled mass hunger. They are also accused of extortion, mass rapes and killings.
The transitional government, a rotating body of presidential council members appointed nearly a year ago, alongside a long undermanned and underfunded UN-backed security mission have done little to hold off the gangs’ advances so far.
From early on Wednesday, the protesters erected barriers and disrupted traffic as they headed towards the offices of the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT) and the prime minister before being dispersed by the police.
They denounced the inaction of the authorities, who have failed to restore security almost a year to the day after the creation of the CPT, set up after the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
“Do you see what is happening?” protester Joseph Mackendy told the Reuters news agency at the demonstration. “Today, Haitian people will fight to be free already. We are free. Those men today cannot frighten me.”
“We can’t stand this insecurity in the country any longer,” one protester, who declined to be named, told the AFP news agency.
“It is unacceptable that we continue to lose territory. In reality, I believe that these territories are being handed over to bandits by the authorities, who are not rising to the occasion,” he added.
The protest came days after a mass jailbreak in the central town of Mirebalais.
From Sunday night to Monday, gangs attacked the police station and prison in Mirebalais, a town about 50km (30 miles) northeast from Port-au-Prince, freeing 529 inmates.
This attack and another on the nearby town of Saut d’Eau forced 5,981 people to flee their homes, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Many critics have alleged the government’s poor performance against the gangs’ advances is tied to corruption and even collusion with the armed men and their financial backers.
While the government has rejected these accusations, Haiti’s authorities have a long history of ingrained corruption, and its judicial system has been paralysed amid the violence.
The Kenyan-led Multinational Security Mission, which has about 1,000 police officers from six countries and the support of the UN, has also been assisting Haitian police to tackle gang violence.
But the situation continues to deteriorate.
“We demand the restoration of security, free movement and the return of our children to school,” another protester, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AFP.
“Down with the bandits! Long live peace and security. If the authorities are overwhelmed by events, they must leave.”