Gang crime shakes the Caribbean country. Militias disrupt the supply of water and electricity to the people. The sanitary facilities no longer work.
Residents of the city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, trudge through garbage in the streets. Cholera has broken out in the Caribbean country. Gang crime is shaking the country.
(dpa)
Because of the poor security, health and supply situation in Haiti, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for an international intervention force in the country. “One or more member states, upon invitation and in cooperation with the Haitian government, could act bilaterally and urgently deploy a rapid reaction force in support of the Haitian police,” Guterres wrote in an internal letter to the UN Security Council on Saturday. The letter is available from the German Press Agency. The Haitian government had previously asked the UN for help.
These forces could support the police in the gang-ridden Caribbean nation, but let them take the lead in fighting the gangs. But it is also possible that member states send special units that are themselves involved in operations against the gangs. The situation is so serious because militias are now controlling strategically important facilities such as the port of the capital Port-au-Prince and the fuel supply. As a result, the infrastructure for the distribution of water and electricity would no longer exist, and sanitation would have come to a standstill. Guterres warned of a cholera epidemic.
Haiti is the poorest country on the American continent. In July 2021, President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in his residence under circumstances that are still unclear. Gang fighting in the greater Port-au-Prince area, which has been going on for more than a year, has worsened the already difficult security situation and partially paralyzed the capital. Bandits keep blocking access to the Varreu port in Port-au-Prince, leading to fuel shortages.
There have also been protests and looting in recent weeks after the government of interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry, which has been in office for more than a year, announced a significant increase in fuel prices. For the first time in three years, there has also been a cholera outbreak in the past few days.
Haitian media reported Friday that the Council of Ministers had authorized Henry to seek international assistance through the deployment of a “special armed force.” On Thursday, the head of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, called on Haiti to ask for foreign security forces.