Rival gangs sign truce in Haiti’s largest shantytown

Subject: IR

Sec: Places in news

Context:

Port-Au-Prince, Haiti (AFP)— Two rival gang leaders signed a truce to end armed conflict in Haiti’s largest shantytown.

More on News:

Under the agreement between leaders of the G9 and G-Pep groups, roadblocks in the Cite Soleil (Sun City) shantytown of around 300,000 inhabitants were taken down.
Violence in Port-au-Prince has skyrocketed in recent months, sparking a serious humanitarian crisis.

Haiti’s Gang war:

Since 2020, Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince has been the site of an ongoing gang war between two major criminal groups and their allies: the Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family and Allies (FRG9 or G9) and the G-Pep.
The Government of Haiti and Haitian security forces have struggled to maintain their control of Port-au-Prince amid this conflict, with gangs reportedly controlling up to 90% of the city by 2023.
In response to the escalating gang fighting, an armed vigilante movement, known as bwa kale, also emerged, with the purpose of fighting the gangs.
On 2 October 2023, United Nations Security Council Resolution 2699 was approved, authorizing a Kenya-led “multinational security support mission” to Haiti.
In March 2024, gang violence spread throughout Port-au-Prince with the goal of obtaining the resignation of acting prime minister Ariel Henry, leading to the storming of two prisons and the release of thousands of prisoners. These attacks and subsequent attacks on various government institutions led the Haitian government to declare a state of emergency and impose a curfew.

Formation of G9 Alliance:

Another coalition of nine gangs was announced to be founded in Port-au-Prince in June 2020, which became the “G9 Alliance” led by Chérizier.
Since the coalition was founded, it has been responsible for multiple massacres against civilians and clashes with other rival gangs. From 2020 to 2021, the G9 was responsible for a dozen massacres, in which at least 200 people were killed.
The G9 was believed to have had close ties to the government of Moïse, which was accused of large-scale corruption.
The coalition members frequently evaded prosecution after the massacres and the clashes.
The G9 also began attacking neighborhoods in which civilians protested against the president and started clashes against rival gangs with the support of the police.
In response to the growing dominance of G9, a rival gang alliance, called “G-Pep”, was founded in July 2020.
It consisted of mainly those gangs in Port-au-Prince’s Cité Soleil who were strongly opposed to joining G9.
G-Pep was suspected of connection to various opposition parties and so opposed G9 and its ties to Moïse.