An uneasy calm reigns on Tuesday in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, which is under a curfew. Gangs there have released thousands of prisoners and tried to take over the airport.
• Also read: Port-au-Prince “paralyzed” after gang attacks on prisons
• Also read: At least a dozen dead in mass prisoner escape in Haiti
• Also read: The Haitian government declares a state of emergency and a curfew in Port-au-Prince
Armed gangs that have taken control of entire parts of the country, including the capital, have been attacking strategic locations for several days.
They say they want to oust controversial Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who has been in power since 2021 and was due to leave office in early February.
On Monday afternoon, police and army repelled an attack on Toussaint Louverture international airport, an AFP journalist reported.
Unrest around the airport has led to international airlines canceling all flights to Port-au-Prince.
According to the same source, several armed people stormed a police station near the airport and set it on fire.
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This attack comes after gang raids over the weekend against two prisons in Port-au-Prince while Prime Minister Henry visited Kenya. These attacks led to the escape of thousands of prisoners and around ten deaths.
In response, the government declared a state of emergency and a three-day night curfew, which may be extended through Wednesday.
This new “escalation” of violence has forced about 15,000 people to leave their homes in Port-au-Prince, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said in New York on Tuesday, adding that humanitarian workers had begun working in three new locations to distribute food and other basic needs to internally displaced people.
Asked about the number of recent acts of violence, he added that UN teams did not have the means to count the number of victims due to “limited travel opportunities.”
The UN Security Council will meet behind closed doors on the issue on Wednesday, according to its program. Maria Isabel Salvador, United Nations representative in Haiti, will provide you with a remote update on the situation.
According to AFP journalists, the capital appeared to be returning to somewhat normal life on Tuesday after being brought to a standstill, although certain streets remained barricaded with stones and logs that residents had put up to protect them.
Transport is working again and shops are open again. Long queues form in front of shops, banks and petrol stations.
The US State Department said the prime minister was on his way home on Monday but was expected back home on Tuesday.
According to local media Radio Télé Métronome, Ariel Henry was unable to return due to a lack of security at the airport.
The head of government traveled to Nairobi last week to sign an agreement to send Kenyan police to Haiti as part of an international mission supported by the United Nations and the United States.
Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, is facing a deep political, humanitarian and security crisis, exacerbated by the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, and the political process is completely impasse.
According to the UN, more than 8,400 people were victims of gang violence last year, killed, injured and kidnapped, “an increase of 122% compared to 2022”.
“With every day that passes, if not with every hour, it becomes clear that it is the Haitian people who are suffering from the terrible and inhumane violence for survival,” commented Stéphane Dujarric, echoing the UN Secretary-General’s call all political parties actors that drive the political process to enable elections to be held.