A state of emergency was declared in Haiti after a particularly violent weekend in the capital Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area. Armed gangs raided two prisons. Thousands of prisoners escaped; at least ten people died. In order to regain control of the capital Port-au-Prince, a curfew is imposed. This condition must last at least 72 hours.
Published on: 03/04/2024 – 12:06
3 mins
The spiral of violence continues in Haiti. A state of emergency and a curfew have been imposed for a renewable 72-hour period following this weekend's violence across the Western Department. The curfew applies in the same area on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time and on Sundays from 8:00 p.m. local time to 5:00 a.m., a government press release said.
It was the Minister of Economy and Finance, Patrick Michel Boisvert, who signed the government's press release in the absence of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who traveled to Kenya. This suggests that these announcements come in the context of the deterioration of security in the country, particularly in Port-au-Prince, “marked by increasingly violent criminal acts by armed gangs,” as well as taking into account “the escape of dangerous prisoners.” According to the government, these were actions that “endangered national security.”
In fact, around ten people died and thousands of inmates walked out of the capital's main prison this weekend in an operation blamed on armed gangs.
Read alsoHaiti: After an attack by armed gangs, prisoners escape from the country's main prison
This explosive situation is worrying several states. Some embassies will be closed on March 4, while Canada and the United States are urging their nationals to leave the country as quickly as possible. But many airlines such as American Airlines and JetBlue Airways have suspended flights.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry has still not returned from Kenya, where he reached an agreement with authorities in Nairobi on Friday March 1 to send Kenyan police officers to the country.
Also read: Kenya and Haiti sign agreement to deploy Kenyan police officers to Haitian soil
In this climate of violence, health services are trying as best they can to stay operational. This is the case at the Tabarre Hospital in Port-au-Prince, managed by the organization Médecins sans frontières. The facility has been accepting more and more injured people in the last few days: “All the patients who arrive have a lot of psychological trauma. We even accept patients in our hospitals who are not from our technical platform because they have nowhere to go. And last night, pregnant women came to the hospital and had to give birth. They have no place to go, so they come to us,” notes Mumuza Muhindo, Médecins Sans Frontières’ head of operations in Haiti and responsible for Tabarre Hospital.
“The other impact is medication concerns. Cargo ships are blocked in the port. We can't access it. We hope that calm will soon come that will allow us access to these medicines, otherwise we fear a shortage that will affect our ability to respond to providing free supplies to the population. The number of beneficiaries is increasing day by day,” explains Mumuza Muhindo.
Also read: International operation in Haiti: “The gangs are waiting to see what it will look like”