This is the horrifying moment suspected Haitian gang members beg for mercy before a vigilante lynch mob stones and burns them alive.
The mob beat and burned 13 men to death with gasoline-soaked tyres on Monday after pulling them from police custody at a traffic stop, police and witnesses in the capital Port-au-Prince said.
Six more burned bodies were seen in a nearby neighbourhood later on in the day, and witnesses claimed to have seen police kill them before residents set them on fire. News agencies said this could not be verified.
Haiti’s National Police said in a brief statement that officers in the city’s Canape Vert section had stopped and searched a minibus for contraband.
The officers confiscated weapons from suspects before they were ‘unfortunately lynched by members of the population’, the officials said. The statement did not elaborate on how members of the crowd were able to take control of the suspects.
Pictured: This is the horrifying moment suspected Haitian gang members are seen begging for mercy before a vigilante lynch mob stones and burns them aliveThe horrific vigilante violence shows the level of public anger over the increasing lawlessness in Port-au-Prince.
Criminal gangs have taken control of an estimated 60 per cent of the city since the July 2021 assassination of president Jovenel Moïse.
A witness who gave his name as Edner Samuel told reporters that members of the crowd took the suspected gangsters away from police, beat them and stoned them before putting tyres on them, pouring gasoline on top and burning them.
An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw 13 bodies burning in the street.
Two videos shared on social media appeared to show the moments before and after the tyres were set alight above the group of men.
The first video showed the suspected criminals lying on the floor with tyres piled on their backs. One man appeared to lift his head, but as he did so was hit by a stone.
Others were seen lying still face down, seemingly trying not to attract attention to themselves, while one man appears to be pleading with an armed officer.
Police officers were seen standing guard, but showed little sign of trying to protect the men from the mob. One of the officers is shown stamping on one of the suspected gang members to prevent him from standing.
The second video, taken from further away than the first, shows thick black smoke billowing up from a pile of tyres and bodies as flames burn.
The fires drew hundreds of onlookers in the hilly suburb of the city, many of them holding their noses amid the fumes. Pictures showed several bystanders looking horrified, while others appeared to be taking photos.
Mr Samuel said the suspects were believed to have been heading to another area to join a group of gangsters battling police.
Another witness, Jean Josue, said there had been a lot of gunfire in the area since the early morning.
The situation in the capital remained tense, and shots could be heard ringing out from several neighbourhoods.
In the nearby area of Turgeau, a few minutes drive from Canape Vert, witnesses said police had killed six gang suspects in a shoot-out, and that local residents dragged the bodies from where they fell to a central location and set fire to them.
An AP reporter saw the six burned bodies. Police did not release any statements about the violence in Turgeau.
Acting president Ariel Henry tweeted that his government expresses its sympathy with police officers injured in recent operations.
‘I applaud the considerable and meritorious efforts of the national police to restore order and peace in our cities and neighbourhoods,’ he tweeted.
‘There is still a lot to do.’
Witnesses at the scene said the suspects were believed to have been members of the Kraze Barye gang, which translates as ‘Breaking Barriers’.
The violence started before dawn, when gang members burst into several residential areas of the capital, looting homes and attacking residents, witnesses said.
‘It was the sound of projectiles that woke us up this morning. It was 3.00am, the gangs invaded us. There were shots,’ a Turgeau local told AFP news agency.
‘If the gangs come to invade us, we will defend ourselves, we too have our own weapons, we have our machetes, we will take their weapons, we will not flee,’ said another resident.
‘Mothers who want to protect their children can send them elsewhere,’ he added.
In fact, dozens of families left the neighbourhoods caught in the spiral of violence on Monday, AFP journalists confirmed. Men, women and children fled the scene on foot, carrying a few personal belongings in bags or bundles.
Authorities say the gang is led by Vitel’Homme Innocent, who is accused of helping kidnap 17 US missionaries in October 2021.
He is also linked to the assassination of president Moïse.
Moïse was shot 12 times when two dozen armed men raided the country’s presidential residence in the early hours on July 7, 2021.
Two weeks later, Henry was sworn in as president, having only just been named prime minister by Moïse on July 5.
