Haitian Police Launch Efforts to Retrieve Bodies Following Church-Led Protest

To find the bodies of supporters of an evangelical minister who organized a fatal demonstration against a gang in charge of a suburb of the capital, Haitian police will conduct an operation.
According to the local rights organization CARDH, at least seven individuals were killed on Saturday when gang members opened fire with machine guns in the Canaan area in the north. Even though investigations are ongoing and the region is inaccessible, the death toll might be as high as 20.
The protest of several hundred individuals headed by Pastor Marco of the Evangelical Piscine de Bethesda church was denounced by Haiti’s national police, which has fought a losing war against the nation’s strong gangs.
Since April, a substantial number of Haitians have joined civilian self-defense organizations called “Bwa Kale,” to defend their neighborhoods from violent gangs that now rule a sizable portion of the nation and whose continual turf conflicts have sparked a dire humanitarian catastrophe.
The movement has raised hopes, but it has also triggered reprisals against innocent people and stoked concerns that the groups are inciting the violence. The PNH claimed in a statement that police had attempted to put an end to the protest on Saturday but that protesters had managed to get by the security detail. The PNH added that some of the organizers were wearing olive-green uniforms and carrying assault guns and machetes.
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Unarmed Demonstrators Clash with Armed Group

The PNH claimed that the group, which was headed by a guy by the name of Jeff, was equipped with an “arsenal of war,” Social media videos showed some demonstrators brandishing sticks or machetes, despite the fact that the majority were unarmed. In a Monday interview with Mega Radio, Zidor defended the demonstration by claiming that those who had been shot at had lost confidence.
According to CARDH, Zidor’s attorneys asked the local prosecutor to postpone a meeting with them because of health concerns, while the prosecutor urged the families of the victims to file reports. When questioned if he would still do it in light of the dead toll, Zidor responded, “I’ll do it again.”
Unverified social media footage showed individuals being fired at in the street, bodies on the ground, and those who appeared to be hostages claiming they believed the march was harmless and were unaware it was intended to take down the gang.
Some of the bodies depicted in the videos were found outside while wearing “Pastor Marco”-branded yellow and white shirts. According to a statement released on Sunday by the rights group FJKL, preachers in Haiti are subject to three to 15 years in prison for inciting violence in their sermons.
The group cited another demonstration held on Sunday by adherents of the so-called Pastor Edrice, who attempted to confront the Vitel’Homme Innocent-led gang but were stopped by authorities.
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Source: Yahoo!