<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Gang members in Haiti killed 12 people and burned down houses in a town near the capital, an official said Wednesday.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Police and residents had ejected gangsters from the town of Cabaret north of Port-au-Prince several days ago but they returned and attacked Tuesday night, said Mayor Joseph Jeanson Guillaume.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"This morning we found several charred bodies," the mayor told AFP.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Powerful and heavily armed Gangs that control much of Haiti have been targeting Cabaret for months.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cabaret sits along a major road, meaning attacks on it disrupt traffic and trade, said the mayor.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Haiti has been mired in an economic, political and public safety crisis for years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The assassination of president Jovenel Moise in July 2021 exacerbated the crises, as gangs grew in strength and territorial control.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Police are outnumbered, with the United Nations saying there were 13,000 officers in the force as of September -- one for every 1,000 people.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, formally requested international assistance in October to help it regain control but nothing has come of the appeal. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>