The Haitian Government announced this Thursday, March 7, that it will extend the state of emergency around Port-au-Prince for at least one more month, following the wave of gang violence that threatens to overthrow the Executive and that generated the forced displacement of thousands of families. Meanwhile, the UN warned that medical care is on the brink of collapse.
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The Government of Haiti extended this Thursday, March 7, the state of emergency for one month in the West department, where the capital, Port-au-Prince, is located, due to the situation of insecurity and violence.
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Communiqué number 2 relating to the prolongation of the couvre-feu and aux interdictions of manifestations on the public voice during the period of the State of Urgency pic.twitter.com/UE2m1RILZp
— Primature de la République d'Haïti (@PrimatureHT) March 7, 2024
The extension was announced by a decree published in a special issue of Haiti's official newspaper, 'Le Moniteur', and was signed by the Council of Ministers. The decision comes after the state of emergency and the extendable 72-hour curfew expired on Wednesday, which had been decreed on Sunday for that area due to the violent escalation caused by armed gangs, and in the absence of the prime minister. , Ariel Henry, who is in Puerto Rico.
The latest wave of violence began a week ago, shortly after Prime Minister Ariel Henry agreed to hold a general election in mid-2025 while attending a meeting of Caribbean leaders in Guyana. During these attacks, gangs burned down police stations, fired on the main international airport, which remains closed, and took control of Haiti's two largest prisons, freeing more than 4,000 inmates.
Henry had traveled to Kenya to promote the deployment of a UN-backed police force to help combat gangs in Haiti. However, in January, a Kenyan court ruled the deployment unconstitutional, and it is unclear whether the force will be deployed due to political uncertainty.
In the recent attacks, dozens of people lost their lives, including several police officers. This week's violence leaves more than 15,000 people homeless, adding to the approximately 300,000 Haitians forced to flee due to gang conflicts in recent years.
This Thursday, looting by gangs was reported in the capital's main port, where containers loaded with food were stolen, raising concerns about a possible shortage of supplies.
“If we cannot access these containers, Haiti will soon go hungry,” said Laurent Uwumuremyi, director of the NGO Mercy Corps in Haiti.
“It is currently the only means of transporting food and medical supplies for humanitarian and development organizations from Port-au-Prince to other parts of the country,” the UN said.
Health care in Haiti on the brink of collapse
The UN humanitarian affairs agency issued a warning that the health system in Haiti is on the brink of collapse, with critical shortages of medical staff, equipment, beds, medicines and blood supplies to care for patients with gunshot wounds. .
According to the UN World Food Programme, WFP, around two dozen trucks carrying vital equipment, medical supplies and food were stranded in the capital's port. The WFP reported that it has suspended its maritime transport service due to “insecurity.”
According to Doctors Without Borders, MSF, At least 2,300 people died from violence in 2023 in the Cité Soleil neighborhood of Port-au-Prince alone. where 9% of the capital's population lives.
“The actual magnitude of the violence is likely to be much higher,” MSF said. The agency reopened an emergency clinic in the capital, which was closed after armed men intercepted an ambulance and killed a patient being treated.
“I'm used to seeing bodies on the ground. I'm used to seeing charred corpses. I'm used to hearing explosions. Sometimes it's someone you know,” said an MSF team member.
The UN special envoy for Haiti, María Isabel Salvador, called for the sending of a UN-backed force “to prevent the country from sinking further into chaos, as gang violence in Haiti has reached unprecedented levels“.
According to a US Department of Defense official, the United States plans to deploy a Marine Corps Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team, known as the FAST team, to Haiti to protect the US Embassy. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.
Haiti is experiencing a volatile political and security situation since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, which left the country mired in uncertainty and turmoil. Ariel Henry assumed power shortly after Moïse's assassination, although he was not popularly elected. However, his Government has postponed the holding of elections on several occasions, under the argument of first establishing security conditions to guarantee a free and fair electoral process.
NEW: The UN Security Council is weighing a statement that would press for free and fair elections in Haiti without calling for PM Ariel Henry to resign, according to a draft obtained by Bloomberghttps://t.co/noghzkVqzv
— Augusta Saraiva (@gutavsaraiva) March 7, 2024
Martine Moïse, widow of the deceased president and survivor of the attack and recently accused along with 50 other people for their alleged involvement in the 2021 assassination, denounced in a statement that Haiti is plunged into chaos.
Moïse accuses those currently in power of trying to blame the victims and divert attention from those truly responsible for the crime. The situation is further aggravated by the growing influence and territorial control of gangs, who carry out kidnappings for ransom and accumulate large arsenals of firearms, many of which are believed to have been trafficked from the United States.
“People with guns are essentially the current arbiters of Haitian politics,” said Robert Fatton, an expert on Haitian politics at the University of Virginia. “The gangs have won the battle so far,” he concluded.
With EFE and AP
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