Gang violence is escalating
Haiti’s head of government is apparently stuck abroad
March 7, 2024, 4:40 a.m
With the freeing of thousands of prisoners, gang violence in Haiti has reached a new level since the weekend. The pressure on the head of government is increasing, also from abroad. Apparently he cannot return to the country at the moment. The UN is urging the deployment of a security mission.
After bandits freed thousands of prisoners from prisons, pressure on the government in Haiti is increasing. The US government called on Haitian interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry to accelerate the process toward free and fair elections. Henry took over the reins of government shortly after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021 and was actually supposed to leave office at the end of February. Instead, he agreed with the opposition to govern together until new elections were held “within twelve months.”
After a trip last week to Guyana and Kenya, Henry has not yet returned to Haiti; on Tuesday he traveled to Puerto Rico. Henry actually wanted to make a stopover in Haiti’s neighboring country, the Dominican Republic. However, the Dominican Republic rejected this because of a lack of a flight plan. All flights to and from Haiti were canceled due to gang violence.
On Saturday, bandits freed prisoners from two prisons. According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, more than 4,500 prisoners escaped, including known gang members and suspects in connection with the Moïse murder. According to a report in the newspaper Le Nouvelliste, the leader of the gang coalition, ex-police officer Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier, warned of a civil war if Henry did not resign and the international community continued to support him.
According to UN estimates, brutal gangs now control around 80 percent of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince. According to the Haitian human rights organization RNDDH, the two main armed groups united on February 29th. Almost 1,200 people have already been killed in the latest escalation of violence, and 15,000 people are now said to have fled the capital. UN Human Rights Commissioner Türk called the situation “no longer tenable” and called for a multinational security mission to be sent. The UN Security Council had already approved this in October, and Kenya wanted to take the lead. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for funding to support the Haitian police force.