At least 11 inmates killed in prison horror in Haiti.

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At least 11 inmates were killed on Friday in chaotic events surrounding a prison break in the Haitian coastal city of Saint-Marc, officials said. Saint-Marc is about 80 kilometers north of Port-au-Prince. Prison guards were reportedly on strike at the time.

“The situation is under control, but the consequences are catastrophic,” prosecutor Venson Francois told Reuters. “All the policemen's dormitories have burned down. The archives have burned down. They set fire to everything except their cells.”

A local government official said the unrest was a spontaneous protest that expressed inmates' frustration with living conditions in the prison, which included a lack of food and appalling health conditions.

The Miami-Herald reported that businesses in Saint-Marc had been asking for police reinforcements for several days due to a growing problem of gang violence.

The New ListThe local newspaper reported that prison officials were on strike at the time of the prison break to demand better working conditions. The newspaper report said government commissioner Vension Francois feared prison guards might have mutinied, but no details were given.

The Saint-Marc police informed the public about the prison break. The announcement also asked the public to report to the police any suspicious persons who could possibly be escaped prisoners.

Unconfirmed videos of the prison break posted on social media show people climbing over walls amid fire, smoke and a loud explosion. Gunshots could also be heard near the prison.

It was not immediately clear how many prisoners escaped, nor was it known whether the breakout was the result of a gang attack, a security breach or some other reason, officials said.

Haiti is plagued by gang violence in its cities, despite the deployment of at least 400 Kenyan police officers to lead a multinational security mission to combat the gangs. The armed gangs are not deterred by Kenyans from their lawlessness and continue to unrest.

Human rights activist Marie Yolene Gilles, who closely monitors Haiti’s prisoners, told the Herald that she was not surprised by the outbreak.

“When one prison falls, others fall too; it's like a domino effect,” she said. In July, the prison housed about 500 inmates, she said.

Friday's prison break was the third in recent months. In March, gangs raided two of the country's largest prisons – the National Prison and the Croix-des-Bouquets. More than 4,000 prisoners escaped in the raids, including inmates accused of the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.

Source: VOA.Africa Report.

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