Tusinder kan være flygtet fra fængsel i Haiti

Thousands of prisoners may have escaped from a prison in Haiti after violent clashes on Saturday evening local time, when armed gangs attacked the prison.

It is also said that the clashes have cost several lives, and the government has decided to send the country into crisis alert.

On Sunday, many doors were open in the prison, where only a few prisoners remain.

The prison, which was built for 700 prisoners, had 3,687 inmates according to a count from last February.

According to the Miami Herald newspaper, there were several gang leaders among the prisoners.< /p>

It is unclear how many prisoners have escaped, but according to sources at the prison, it is the vast majority of them.

According to several sources, several people have also lost their lives during the clashes.

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This is reported by the human rights group RNDDH, according to the AFP news agency, and AFP's own journalist on the scene says the same.

- We have counted the bodies of many inmates, says Pierre Esperance, who represents the RNDDH.

AFP's journalist, who visited the prison on Sunday, reports having seen around 12 bodies outside the building.

After the attacks, the government has declared that it is going on crisis alert. It is written by dpa.

It must apply for 72 hours, and at the same time a curfew will be introduced from 6pm to 5am. It must "get the situation under control."

< p>The attacks "resulted in the deaths and injuries of police and prison officers, dangerous inmates who have now escaped, and the destruction of facilities," the government said in a statement, according to dpa, but it did not put a number on those killed.

An employee at the prison told Reuters that 99 prisoners had chosen to stay in their cells for fear of being hit by a bullet when armed gangs attacked the prison.
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- I am the only one left in my cell, says a prisoner.

- We were sleeping when we heard the sound of gunshots. The doors to the cells are broken.

The small Caribbean country has recently been plagued by widespread unrest and gang violence.

Haitian gang leader Jimmy Cherizier has threatened to depose the country's prime minister , Ariel Henry.

Cherizier, a former policeman now under US and UN sanctions, has called on Haiti's gangs to unite against the president.

Henry has been visiting Kenya during the week to sign an agreement which means that Haiti receives 1,000 police officers from the African country.

On Thursday, according to the country's police union, four police officers were killed in battles against gang members. Several others have been injured in recent days of unrest.

As early as 2022, Haiti asked the international community for help to fight the gangs that control most of Port-au-Prince.

The Bahamas has offered to send 150 officers to Haiti, while Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda have also said they are willing to lend a hand.

Earlier this week, it offered West African countries Benin to send 2000 soldiers to Haiti.

/ritzau/Reuters