PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Naika and Erica Lafleur stared at a pile of rubble where their house once stood in Haiti’s capital and began to cry.

Their mother had instructed the two sisters, ages 10 and 13, to visit the home they fled last year and report back on its condition after powerful gangs raided their community in November.

“I was hoping to have a place to come back to,” Erica Lafleur said. “There’s nothing to see.”

The sisters lived in Solino, home to one of Haiti’s most powerful vigilante groups that proudly fended off gangs for years until their leader was killed and gunmen invaded.

Gangs seized control of the area for almost a year only to abruptly leave in recent weeks as they encouraged residents to return.

Many Haitians are anxious to flee crowded and dangerous shelter

See Full Page