Day by day, the climate of insecurity is worsening in Haiti.

A deadly discovery, around fifteen lifeless bodies, was made in a wealthy suburb of Port-au-Prince where gang members have been carrying out attacks since dawn.

The United States, for its part, hoped that a presidential transition council – expected since last week – would be ready “as early as today (Monday)”.

An AFP photographer saw 14 remains in Pétion-Ville, a town located in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince.

Two residents said they had seen around ten of them, without being able to say in what circumstances these people had been killed.

But they claimed that “armed bandits” had been sowing terror since dawn in Laboule and Thomassin, two neighborhoods of Pétion-Ville.

They attacked a bank, a gas station and private residences, they said.

Among the vandalized houses is that of a judge at the Court of Auditors, who was able to narrowly evacuate the premises thanks to police intervention, one of his relatives told AFP.

Shots were still heard in Pétion-Ville early Monday afternoon.

The capital is 80% in the hands of gangs, accused of numerous abuses, in particular murders, rapes, looting and kidnappings for ransom.    

Delay in forming a presidential transition council

Haiti, which was already experiencing a deep political and security crisis, has been in the grip of renewed violence since the beginning of the month, when several gangs joined forces to attack strategic locations in Port-au-Prince as part of a fight against Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

Very contested, the latter was unable to return to his country after a trip to Kenya.

He announced his resignation last Monday, saying his government would manage current affairs until a presidential transition council is established.

Also read: Sending an international force to Haiti, a mission impossible for Kenya?

In an emergency meeting the same day with representatives from Haiti, the UN and the United States among others, the Caribbean Community and its partners charged Haitian political parties and the private sector to put on foot these transitional authorities.

But negotiations to form this body of seven voting members have fallen behind schedule, particularly due to internal dissensions.

The United States said Monday it was confident.

“Stakeholders in Haiti are very close to finalizing the composition” of the council, said Vedant Patel, a spokesperson for the US State Department, saying “expect news from them today (Monday)”.

The situation in Haiti "almost out of a scene from 'Mad Max'"

Kenya, which must deploy a thousand police officers as part of a multinational security support mission, announced that it would suspend the sending of its men, but assured that it would intervene once a presidential council was installed.

The UN Security Council meets behind closed doors on Monday to discuss the situation in Haiti.

On Sunday, the curfew was extended until Wednesday in the West department, which includes Port-au-Prince. 

The Haitian national police carried out an operation Friday evening in the stronghold of a gang leader nicknamed "Barbecue" near Port-au-Prince, which left several gangsters dead, a police union official told the AFP.

Also read: Can the resignation of Ariel Henry remedy the chaos in Haiti?

This weekend, the executive director of Unicef ​​described the situation in Haiti as "horrible" and "almost out of a scene from 'Mad Max,'" a film that depicts a post-apocalyptic future.

“Many, many people are suffering from serious hunger and malnutrition, and we are not able to provide them with enough help,” Catherine Russell said on the American channel CBS.

The current situation “is the worst anyone has seen in decades,” she added.

With AFP

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