Overview:
Clashes between armed teams within the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac, close to Port-au-Prince, continued on April 20, 2026, with gunfire reaching the perimeter of Toussaint Louverture Worldwide Airport and forcing the momentary suspension of Dawn Airways flight operations, The incident comes amid a broader escalation of gang violence throughout the metropolitan space, the place rival factions are engaged in renewed territorial battles, displacing residents and trapping others inside their properties beneath heavy gunfire.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Gunfire reached the perimeter of Toussaint Louverture Worldwide Airport on Monday, forcing the momentary suspension of flights as clashes between armed teams escalated in areas close to Plaine du Cul-de-Sac, positioned simply northeast of Haiti’s capital.
A bullet struck a window within the airport, prompting Dawn Airways to quickly halt operations for a couple of hours throughout the day, in line with firm officers.
For now, passengers should wait for brand new dates following the suspension of flights to and from Port-au-Prince.
“There have been gunshots on the airport. Flights are suspended for the day,” communications director of Dawn Airways Stéphanie Armand advised The Haitian Occasions. “Dawn Airways continues to carefully monitor the scenario in coordination with the related authorities and can present updates as quickly as circumstances enable for the protected resumption of operations.”
By mid-afternoon, nonetheless, all appeared to be beneath management on the close by Man Malary Terminal, the place native flights continued to function usually.
Pictures circulating on social media present a bullet impact that struck a window at Toussaint Louverture Worldwide Airport.
The incident comes as calls develop to renew business flights amid U.S. authorities’ extension of the ban on flights to Port-au-Prince till September 2026 attributable to ongoing insecurity.
The ban, initially set to run out in March, was extended as gang violence continues to grip the capital, the place armed teams management 90% of the territory, in line with the United Nations. The insecurity has additionally unfold past Port-au-Prince, affecting different areas akin to Artibonite, the Centre and the Southeast.
Residents trapped as preventing spreads
The preventing is centered within the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac, the place rival gangs have been exchanging heavy gunfire for days.
Residents in a number of neighborhoods say they’ve been unable to depart their properties and worry for his or her lives. For the reason that week of April 13, residents of close by areas, together with Duvivier, Marin, Fuji, Blancha, Terre Noire, and Sarthe, trapped in the midst of the preventing, have tried to flee by the woods.
“There isn’t any going out or shifting round within the streets for now. The one choice is to remain sheltered, as a result of the second you step outdoors, you danger being shot,” a resident who has not but had the possibility to flee advised The Haitian Occasions over the cellphone.
Others have fled, abandoning belongings as they attempt to attain safer areas.
Households displaced from Sarthe and close by communities had been seen resting at Champ-de-Mars earlier than persevering with towards the neighborhood of Carrefour.
“It’s a matter of survival; all of us should face it someday,” replies one other lady within the group, who says she fled from the Sarthe locality, managed by gang chief Claudy “Chen mechan” Célestin.
“The gunfire hasn’t stopped. They’re on the bridge exchanging heavy gunfire, we’re staying hidden behind our partitions,” stated one other resident of the Fuji space.
The Croix-des-Missions bridge has turn out to be a key entrance line, with civilians caught within the center.
Those that stayed in these neighborhoods proceed to concern misery calls to the Haitian Nationwide Police (PNH), which is struggling to intervene and supply help.
Previous rivalries resurface regardless of police strain and incoming worldwide forces
This new wave of violence comes as Haitian police wrestle to comprise armed teams and as worldwide assist begins to take form.
The most recent clashes contain gangs that had been as soon as allied beneath the “Viv Ansanm” coalition however have now turned in opposition to one another. Members of the Chen Mechan gang and allies in Canaan are preventing teams primarily based in Duvivier and Pyè 6, in line with residents within the Cul-de-Sac Plain.
The preventing continues even because the nation prepares for the deployment of the Gang Suppression Drive to assist the nationwide police.
On Monday, Chad’s president, Mahamat Idriss Déby, stated his nation plans to ship 1,500 troopers, including to an preliminary GSF contingent already deployed earlier this month.