8 children were killed in the drone attack in the gang -dominated Haiti neighborhood

Relatives and activists told Associated Press on Monday, where they blamed the police in the attack, that explosive drones targeting a suspect gang leader killed at least eight children inside the slums in the capital of Haiti and were seriously injured by six others.

The explosions took place on Saturday night in Cité Soleil, which is controlled by Viv Ansanm, a strong alliance of the gang that the United States has defined as a foreign terrorist organization.

One of her leaders, Jimmy Cherese, who is called barbecue, pledged revenge against the attacks, killing at least 13 people, according to the residents.

“This is my daughter.”

Tears rolled on her face as she played the video.

Michelin Florville, 60, said the explosion killed two of his grandchildren, between the ages of 3 and 7, and his 32 -year -old son.

He recalls, “People were running right and left,” noting that he was standing near the place where one explosion occurred.

“I prayed for him every day”: the victim’s mother

Meanwhile, Nanos Mertelia, 37, said that she was inside her house on Saturday evening and ran out to see what happened after hearing an explosion. Her son left his house a few minutes ago to get something to eat.

I found it on the ground, leg and arm.

“Come bring me, come, bring me, please Mama,” I told her, but he lost a lot of blood. “By the time we got to the hospital, he died.”

The National Defense Network for National Human Rights in Haiti accused the police of launching two explosive pilots in the community of Simon Pele in Cité Soleil as the leader of a suspected gang Albert Stephenson, known as Djouma, ready to celebrate his birthday.

The group said that Steevenson was distributing gifts to children when the attack occurred.

Roman Le Core, head of the Haiti Observatory in the Global Initiative against Patriotic Crime, said the attack raises “urgent issues.”

“48 hours have passed since the accident, and the authorities have not issued any official contact or bear public responsibility. Who, in the end, will bear the responsibility of this attack: the Prime Minister? The Transitional Presidential Council? Private security companies? He asked.

Lu Cor said that the attacks will only strengthen the novel by the anti -government gangs alliance at a critical turn.

“It is also possible that they will deepen public lack of confidence in state institutions and accelerate the erosion of government legitimacy,” he said.

Also, in an attack on Saturday, three civilians and four suspect gang members were killed, with seven other armed men, according to the Human Rights Group.

Among the dead civilians were Saint Jean -Limmatrend, 33, whose mother was often worried about his work as a moto taxi driver in a 90 percent -controlled capital capital.

“I prayed for him every day he comes out, and now he died in his neighborhood, and returns from work,” said Aglamoide Saint-Saint-Ville, 53 years old, while she was carrying her six-year-old son’s daughter in her lap.

Saint -Fel said that her son was the head of the family.

“The child will not be able to go to school,” she said. “I don’t know how we will eat because we had no savings.”

Activists noted that a similar operation includes drones in downtown Port or Prince killed at least 11 civilians earlier this month.

The Human Rights Group said that many gang members have been killed in drone attacks since March.

“However, the drones did not target terrorist leaders. On the contrary, these leaders have become increasingly comfortable and arrogant, until they publicly move in convoys,” he said.

It was not possible to reach a spokesman for the office of Prime Minister Alex Didier Fils-Emmy immediately to comment.

A new workplace was created earlier this year outside the monitoring of the National Police in Haiti and used the use of explosive drones. The work squad consisted of some police units and private contractors.

The United Nations Mission is not funded

This attack comes at a time when Vectus Global, the former Navy Seal Erik Prince security company, expects nearly 200 individuals from different countries to Haiti as part of a year for a year to suppress gang violence there.

In June, Fritz Alfons Jean, Commander of the Transitional Presidential Council in Haiti, confirmed that the government was using foreign contractors. He refused to get to know the company or say how much the deal was worth.

The private sector contractors are expected to enhance an unstable police administration from the lack of employees working with the Kenyan police as part of the United Nations -backed mission aimed at fighting gangs.

The unaccumented task includes 991 employees, much less than 2500 employees, and about $ 112 million in its insurance fund-about 14 percent from the $ 800 million he needs annually, according to a recent amp report.

On Sunday, United Nations Secretary -General Antonio Guterres met with Laurent Saint Seer, President of the Transitional Presidential Council in Haiti. They agreed that “urgent international work is necessary to help restore security,” according to the United Nations statement.

Christopher Landau, Deputy Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs, reiterated the invitation to the “gang suppression force” at the United Nations headquarters on Monday.

“It is time to work now,” he said. “This is not a crisis that can be ignored or postponed.”