Fuel flows again in Haiti after police rout gangs

Under heavy police escort, dozens of trucks carrying oil leave Varreux terminal blockaded by armed gangs for months before getting flushed out in major operation, officials say.

First fuel to leave the terminal headed to factories, hospitals and other public institutions.
AFP Archive

First fuel to leave the terminal headed to factories, hospitals and other public institutions.

Fuel distribution has resumed in Haiti after police flushed out gang gunmen who had held the country's main oil import terminal for two months.

The gang stranglehold on the Varreux terminal had paralysed the country, causing severe fuel shortages and halting deliveries of drinking water — key to fighting a cholera outbreak.

"Several tanker trunks left the terminal under a heavy police escort," the Haitian National Police said on Facebook.

At least 45 trucks have been loaded up with fuel, officials said on Twitter.

The facility supplies most of the fuel consumed in the poorest country in the Americas, and it fell under criminal control on September 12.

The first fuel to leave the terminal headed to factories, hospitals and other public institutions.

Haitian security forces had announced on Friday that they regained control of the oil terminal, which is southwest of the capital Port-au-Prince

READ MORE: Haiti ends gang blockade at crucial fuel terminal

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