Rioting cops stormed the Finance Ministry in the capital over complaints about their pay and working conditions, as Covid-19 rips through the impoverished Caribbean nation.
Videos from the scene show cars set ablaze and government buildings being stormed, as Haitian police took to the streets of Port au Prince on Monday.
Officers went out to protest their pay, working conditions, and government corruption against the bleak backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has put further strain on the country’s dire economic situation.
Rioting cops, calling themselves ‘Fantomes 509’ (Ghosts 509) exchanged gunfire with their colleagues sent in to quell the protests.
An SUV was even used as a battering ram against the gate of the Finance Ministry as the dispute turned even uglier.
A masked, rifle-toting member of Fantomes 509, who claim to represent officers killed while on the job, told news outlet VOA Creole, “we still haven’t received what we asked for,” as some civilians also joined the protests which have sprung up periodically since October last year.
In February, clashes between police officers and the army saw one soldier fatally wounded following a shoot-out.
