Haitian gangs target foreign troops in biggest attack on new force

Heavily armed criminal gangs fired on an armoured vehicle of the international security force in Haiti over the weekend, leaving four Salvadoran soldiers unaccounted for.

It is the first major attack on the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF) since it began operations almost six months ago.

The attack occurred Sunday in Croix-des-Bouquets, a once-peaceful community in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, that is now controlled by violent gangs.

El Salvador’s military said contact with the men was lost after they managed to flee the burning vehicle.

It said it is working with international forces to “establish contact and determine the location of our military personnel”.

Salvadoran authorities said helicopters were dispatched to the area but they also came under fire as they dispersed armed men in the area.

“Multiple attempts to approach by land and air have been made, but these have been hampered by the intensity of the fighting,” the Salvadoran military said.

“Gangs are testing the GSF. We recorded an increase in hostile incidents against our force, from two to fifteen in a single month,” the force’s special representative, Jack Christofides, said at the UN on Monday.

“The full circumstances are still being established, but we are examining the response implications for force protection and operational security and operational support,” he added.

He warned that gangs have carried out reprisal killings in some areas following operations by Haitian and international forces, and that they have pushed deeper into some areas.

The United States ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, condemned the attack during the Security Council meeting on Haiti.

“To the gang bosses terrorizing Haiti, your days of operating with impunity are numbered,” he said.

“You can burn vehicles, erect barricades, terrorise the local police, terrorise civilians, but the Gang Suppression Force is coming for you,” said Waltz.

The GSF said in a statement that it's assessing the situation and has advised residents in the area where the incident occurred to remain indoors.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Salvadoran troops.

It comes as Haiti prepares for its first general election in more than a decade and highlights the power of the gangs that control an estimated 70 per cent of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The international force is seeking to add more soldiers as it fights the gang violence that has killed more than 21,000 people in the last four years.

Ongoing fighting has forced nearly 1.5 million Haitians to flee their homes in recent years.