(3 Mar 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Port-au-Prince - 3 March 2024
1. Tires burning in roadblock, motorbikes, people
HEADLINE: Inmates flee after armed gangs storm Haiti's main prison
2. Tires burning
3. Multiple bodies on the ground in middle of street outside Port-au-Prince’s National Penitentiary
ANNOTATION: Bodies lay on the streets of Haiti’s capital on Sunday after an overnight explosion of violence engulfed much of Port-au-Prince.
4. Charred vehicle outside National Penitentiary
ANNOTATION: Hundreds of inmates fled Haiti's main prison after armed gangs stormed the facility late Saturday where several gang leaders were being held.
5. Armored vehicle
ANNOTATION: At least five people were dead Sunday.
6. Man crossing street with luggage
ANNOTATION: The jailbreak marked a new low in Haiti's downward spiral of violence and came as gangs stepped up coordinated attacks.
7. Various of police vehicle damaged by bullet hole
8. Prison with door open
ANNOTATION: The inmates who remained inside the wide-open prison, with no guards in sight, spoke of the terror.
9. Cell doors open
10. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Carlos Guerrero, prisoner:
“It was a very difficult situation last night. The riot in the prison, our lives were at risk. What we did was shelter ourselves, a lot of shots, we were afraid for our lives. We Colombians don’t owe anything to anyone. We stayed in our cells. Why didn’t we leave? Because we don’t have to flee from anyone. We don’t owe anything to anyone. We don’t need to flee because we don’t owe anyone anything. We stayed here.”
11. Tilt down from inside a cell with multiple bunk beds, and belongings of inmates
ANNOTATION: The penitentiary is notorious for its extremely crowded and unhygienic conditions.
12. Pile of garbage inside the National Penitentiary
13. Security forces armoured vehicle driving by
14. Local residents walking with their belongings
ANNOTATION: The violence erupted as embattled Prime Minister Ariel Henry is abroad trying to salvage support for a United Nations-backed security force to stabilize the country.
15. Streets and people moving about
ANNOTATION: Authorities had yet to provide an account of what happened.
STORYLINE:
Hundreds of inmates fled Haiti's main prison after armed gangs stormed the facility in an overnight explosion of violence that engulfed much of the capital.
At least five people were dead Sunday.
The jailbreak marked a new low in Haiti's downward spiral of violence and came as gangs assert greater control in the capital, Port-au-Prince, while embattled Prime Minister Ariel Henry is abroad trying to salvage support for a United Nations-backed security force to stabilize the country.
Authorities had yet to provide an account of what happened. But Arnel Remy, a human rights attorney whose nonprofit works inside the prison, said on X, formerly Twitter, that fewer than 100 of the nearly 4,000 inmates remained behind bars.
Those choosing to stay included 18 former Colombian soldiers accused of working as mercenaries in the July 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.
On Saturday night, several of the Colombians shared a video pleading for their lives.
AP Video by Pierre Luxama.
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