Haiti gripped by violent protests, rage against president

PortauPrince, Sept 28 (AFP/APP):Angry protests rumbled through Haiti and its capital of Port-au-Prince Friday as thousands of people took to the streets against President Jovenel Moise, drawing tear gas from police as demonstrators looted and threw stones.

Protesters took over a police station in the impoverished Cite Soleil neighborhood, making off with sheet metal roofing, furniture and police protection equipment, only slightly slowed by the air wafting with tear gas.

“Now we are taking whatever we need to better our homes because we are tired of getting soaked when it rains,” said Steven Edgard, a protester.

In the early hours of the day, groups of young people prevented traffic from circulating on some of Port-au-Prince’s main arteries.

Lamp posts, burning tires, tree trunks and piles of trash were used to create barricades under the helpless gaze of police patrols.