Haiti's National Police and the Gang Suppression Force launched a joint operation in the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac on Monday, November 2, the police communications directorate said, according to Vant Bèf Info.

The police said the aim is to dismantle illegal toll points run by armed groups and to prevent kidnappings, thefts and other violence against residents. Units were deployed at Carrefour Chada, the Croix-des-Missions bridge and Santo 17, backed by armored vehicles. No results had been released on Monday, with no figures on arrests, casualties or weapons seized.

The plain, east of Port-au-Prince, has seen heavy fighting since four Salvadoran technicians of the gang force went missing there after an ambush on October 18. The Associated Press reported that the force, working with Haitian police and soldiers and with the private security firm Vectus Global, has been battling armed men in the area since that attack.

On the same day, Wilson Joseph, known as “Lanmò Sanjou,” leader of the 400 Mawozo gang based in Croix-des-Bouquets, wrote to the UN secretary-general to ask for a mediation delegation, the AP reported. According to the UN, more than 5,700 people were killed or injured across Haiti from January to mid-September.