Gangs kill former Haitian senator amid spike in violence

FILE PHOTO: Members of the Haitian National Police patrol a street as ongoing gun battles between rival gangs have forced residents to flee their homes, in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti April 28, 2022. REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol/File Photo

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Gangs killed a former Haitian senator who led a government housing program on Saturday in an affluent area of Port-au-Prince, the prime minister said on Sunday, amid a spike in violence by criminal groups in the Caribbean nation's capital.

Yvon Buissereth was shot while police battled with gangs in the neighborhood of Laboule, following an outbreak of violence in recent weeks in Port-au-Prince and a turf war in the town of Cite Soleil that left 148 people lost, wounded or missing.