In attacks political and civic leaders blame on thugs angered by the shift from army to civilian rule, marauding gunmen have killed at least 19 people this week, officials and radio reports say.
The victims included 11 members of a self-defense group hacked to death in the town of Petit Goave, the birthplace of nationwide demonstrations that forced Lt. Gen. Prosper Avril from power.In the capital of Port-au-Prince Wednesday, assailants killed at least four people and wounded eight, according to the reports. The wounded included five members of a self-defense unit shot by gunmen in speeding cars.
The Unity Assembly, the political and civic coalition that chose provisional President Ertha Pascal-Trouillot after Avril went into exile last week, has urged the formation of self-defense units.
There has been a dearth of police protection since Avril fled.