Mob kills 13 suspected Haiti gangsters with gas-soaked tires

Bystanders look at the bodies of alleged gang members that were set on fire by a mob after they were stopped by police while traveling in a vehicle in the Canape Vert area of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, April 24, 2023. [AP Photo]

The fires drew hundreds of onlookers in the hilly suburb of the city, many of them shielding their noses from the fumes. The Canape Vert neighborhood so far has managed to evade control by the criminal gangs.

Samuel said the suspects were believed to have been heading to another area to join a group of gang members who were battling police. Another witness, Jean Josue, said there had been a lot of shooting in the area since the early morning.

The situation in the capital was tense, and shots could be heard ringing out from several neighborhoods.

In the nearby area of Turgeau, a few minutes drive from Canape Vert, witnesses said that police had killed six gang suspects in a firefight, and that local residents dragged the bodies from where they fell to a central location and lit them on fire.

An AP reporter saw the six burned bodies. Police did not release any statements about the violence in Turgeau.

Prime Minster Ariel Henry tweeted that his government expresses its sympathy to the 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 neighborhoods," he tweeted. "There is still a lot to do."

Witnesses in Canape Vert said the suspects there were believed to have been members of the Kraze Barye gang, which translates to "Breaking Barriers." Authorities say the group is led by Vitel'Homme Innocent, who is accused of helping kidnap 17 U.S. missionaries in October 2021 and also is linked to the assassination of Moise.