Warlike scenes in Haiti as police and troops shoot at each other over pay
- The clashes were the most violent since police, this time heavily armed, started protesting at the end of last year
- The impoverished Caribbean island nation is struggling with a prolonged economic and political crisis
Haitian police exchanged gunfire for hours with soldiers of the newly reconstituted army outside the national palace, in a dangerous escalation of protests over police pay and working conditions.
Two servicemen were killed and dozen more were wounded Sunday, the Defence Ministry said, prompting the government to cancel an upcoming carnival.
In a statement the government condemned the violence, calling it an attack against freedom and democracy.
“Terror reigned in certain areas,” the statement said. “Streets were obstructed and there was a warlike situation at the Champ de Mars (square), where heavy weapons fire was heard almost all day.”
Haiti’s raucous three-day Carnival celebration was to have started Sunday afternoon in Port-au-Prince and other major cities but the government announced that Carnival was cancelled in the capital “to avoid a bloodbath”.