A police officer has been decapitated by Haitian gangs, according to local media, as many officers have been violently killed by gangs so far this year.
A harrowing nine-hour barrage on a police station led to a young officer being shot in Haiti as gang violence continues to wreak havoc throughout the country.
After the attack, the officer from the Port-au-Prince police station, messaged his family’s Whatsapp, saying: “If you don’t hear from me, it’s because I’m dead.”
But the officer, named Stanley, survived the horrifying assault on his fortified base, although greatly traumatized.
“What scared me the most was the idea of a needless death that I might die and it would change nothing,” the shaken officer told The Guardian.
But other officers have been less fortunate with Lionel Lazarre, a spokesperson for Haiti’s police union Synapoha, revealing that 17 officers have been killed and “many” injured so far this year.
People have been fleeing gang violence as the violence causes serious hardship across the country (Image: Getty)
Armed gangs continue their reign of terror in Haiti’s capital, despite attempts by a transitional government to resolve the escalating crisis.
In a shocking spree of violence, five officers were brutally killed during an armed assault on a police station in the city’s north on February 29.
One video, described by the newspaper Le Nouvelliste, showed “the corpse of a policeman seen lying on a wheelbarrow, his uniform soaked in blood”, while another depicted an officer that had been decapitated.
The recent gang violence in Haiti has left more than 165,000 people displaced and fearing for their lives.
The UN reported that, from January to March alone, more than 2,500 Haitians were killed or injured (Image: Getty)
The violence has largely shut down Haiti’s biggest seaport and closed the main international airport two months ago. Basic goods including food and life-saving medication are also dwindling, leaving nearly 2 million Haitians on the verge of famine.
The UN reported that, from January to March alone, more than 2,500 Haitians were killed or injured, an increase of more than 50 percent from the same period last year.
Haiti’s police force has come under fire for disappearing from Port-au-Prince streets since the onset of the rebellion, seemingly leaving citizens to fend for themselves.
However, a representative of the union assures they’re doing their utmost, “even though times are tough”.