A Haitian gang attacked a small town northwest of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, killing, kidnapping, and burning down buildings as gang violence devours the Caribbean nation.
Gunmen opened fire on the streets of Bassin Bleu around noon on Thursday, killing at least one high school teacher, according to the Catholic Church and local leaders.
The surge of violence stirred panic in the community as gang members burned the police station, the town hall and a number of other buildings and looted a credit union.
It was the first attack of this scale in the community, which has largely gone untouched by spiraling gang violence besieging Haiti. Such brutal attacks on rural communities have grown increasingly common as gangs have gradually expanded their control across the country.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned such attacks, saying he was “alarmed by the levels of violence rocking Haiti.”
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