Haitian police unions plead for help after attack on main prison

3/3/2024 16:56

        Armed groups were closing in on Haiti's largest prison on Saturday night, defying police forces who called for help after days of gunfire in parts of the capital as a major gang leader seeks to topple Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
        
        Two of the Caribbean country's main police unions called for assistance to stop inmates, many considered to be high-profile criminals, from fleeing the National Penitentiary in Port-Au-Prince.
        
        It was unclear how many had fled the prison, a number that newspaper Gazette Haiti said was "significant." Some detainees were reluctant to leave en masse for fear of being killed in crossfire, sources told Reuters.
        
        Police officers assigned to the prison had vacated the premises on Saturday, according to reports by local media AyiboPost.
        
        The government of Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, did not comment on the situation on Saturday.