Hundreds flee in Honduras due to gang violence between Barrio 18 and MS 13, with no end in sight

Nearly two hundred people have fled their homes in the last month from one neighbourhood alone in Honduras’ second city of San Pedro Sula in fear for their lives as gang violence intensifies, the Norwegian Refugee Council said on Monday.

With one of the world’s highest murder rates, Honduras is struggling to contain drug-fuelled gang violence and organised crime.

The refugee rights group said turf wars between two powerful gangs - Barrio 18 and its rival Mara Salvatrucha - in the Los Bordos neighbourhood, a slum area on the outskirts of the industrial city of San Pedro Sula, has worsened in recent weeks.

In the past month, around 54 families - nearly 200 people - including the elderly, single mothers and children, have been forced to leave their homes in Los Bordos to escape gang warfare, NRC said.

“Our reading of the situation is that one mara (gang) are taking over the area from the other group,” said Christian Visnes, the NRC’s Latin America director.

“This has symptoms of an armed conflict,” he said, adding that residents reported a 30-minute shoot-out between rival gangs on May 7.