Authorities in Haiti’s capital city deployed both police forces and palace guards on Saturday in response to large-scale assaults by gangs on at least three police stations.
On Friday evening, the police fought against gang violence and attempted to establish a secure area around one of the three downtown stations. They were joined by guards from the National Palace, who arrived in an armored truck.
On Saturday, there were continued reports of sporadic gunfire. The ongoing gang assaults have effectively halted the country’s functioning for over a week, leading to shortages of essential goods. In response, Haitian officials have prolongued the state of emergency and imposed a nightly curfew on Thursday, due to ongoing attacks by gangs on important governmental institutions.
Acting president and prime minister Ariel Henry was in Kenya when the outbreak of gang violence occurred on February 29th. Due to this, he has been unable to make his way back to Port-au-Prince. The United States recently urged him to speed up the political transition amid the efforts of armed gangs to overthrow him.
On Friday evening, leaders from the Caribbean called for an urgent meeting in Jamaica on Monday to address the critical state of Haiti. The United States, France, Canada, the United Nations, and Brazil have been invited to attend.
The Caricom regional trade bloc members have made efforts for several months to persuade political figures in Haiti to establish a transitional unity government under one umbrella.
Due to violent conflicts on the streets, numerous Haitians have been compelled to flee their residences and are currently seeking shelter in governmental structures.
Attempts to mediate a resolution have not been fruitful thus far. According to a statement released on Friday night, Caricom, the group of 15 Caribbean nations, acknowledges that the current circumstances are grave.
The statement from Caricom stated that although leaders in the region are actively involved in attempting to unite opposition parties and civil society groups to form a unified government, “the stakeholders are still not at the necessary level.”
The statement acknowledges the pressing requirement for both parties to come to an agreement. We have emphasized to them that they do not have much time to settle on the best course of action.
In February, Henry made a commitment to conduct national elections no later than mid-2025. The global community has made efforts to locate a foreign armed group willing to combat gang violence in the region.
Caricom has urged Henry to declare a temporary power-sharing, collaborative government. However, despite calls for his resignation from Haitian opposition parties and civil society groups, the prime minister has not taken action.
The state department announced that Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, recently had a conversation with Kenyan president William Ruto to discuss the current situation in Haiti. The two individuals emphasized their dedication to a multinational security initiative aimed at bringing stability to Haiti. Kenya previously declared its leadership of this task, but legal disputes within the country have caused delays in its execution.
Henry journeyed to Kenya in order to advocate for the implementation of a United Nations-supported task force comprised of police officers from the eastern African nation to combat gangs in Haiti. Despite his efforts, a Kenyan court determined in January that such a deployment would violate the country’s constitution.
Henry still cannot go back to his house. On Tuesday, he arrived in Puerto Rico because he couldn’t land in the Dominican Republic, which shares a border with Haiti.
The office of Dominican president Luis Abinader released a statement on Saturday declaring that “Henry is not permitted in the Dominican Republic due to safety concerns.” The Dominican Republic, located on the island of Hispaniola alongside Haiti, has shut down its land border.
The comment noted that the security conditions in Haiti were deemed “completely unsolvable” and posed a direct danger to the safety and stability of the Dominican Republic.
The prediction is that if a peacekeeping force is not put into effect quickly to restore order, the situation could worsen.
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This report was made possible by the contributions of the Associated Press and Reuters.
Source: theguardian.com
