The Caribbean nation of Haiti has descended into chaos as criminal gangs have taken over the streets, amid reports of the Prime Minister fleeing abroad. As per reports, the USA has evacuated most officials from their embassy in the capital city of Port-au-Prince. A UN group has warned that the country is ‘under siege’ as armed gangs have taken over the presidential palace and police headquarters.
Viral videos show citizens running around scared amid gunfire and arson.
US evacuates staff, deploys heavy security around embassy
As per reports, the USA has evacuated all non-essential personnel from its embassy in Port-au-Prince. Heavily armed security has been deployed to guard the embassy building after the criminal gangs stormed the airport, police stations, and prisons in Haiti. Though the US has confirmed that the embassy will remain open for now, a helicopter airlifted embassy staff early on Sunday morning.
The German ambassador and other representatives from EU nations have also left for the Dominican Republic, as per reports.
The criminal groups have reportedly ‘rejected’ Prime Minister Ariel Henry, forcing him to flee and seek shelter abroad as the gangs take over most of the capital city and major roads. Haiti is known as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier, the gang leader of the G9 alliance of criminal gangs in Haiti, has held press conferences and has stated that the gangs reject PM Ariel Henry. Media reports have stated that he is now the most powerful man in the Caribbean nation.
As per reports, over 360,000 Haitians are currently displaced, seeking shelter in public buildings or fleeing for their lives. Philippe Branchat, the chief of the International Organisation of Migration stated that the residents of the capital city ‘have nowhere to go to’, and that more than half of the displaced are children.
Clashes between the police and criminal gangs are underway in Haiti, with the police claiming that several gang members have already been killed.
The criminal gangs are seeking the resignation of PM Ariel Henry. In recent days, they attacked several prisons and freed over 3800 inmates all over the country. The gangs are armed and in the absence of a legitimate political administration in the country, things are deteriorating fast.
PM flees the country, gangs rule the streets
PM Ariel Henry was in Kenya when the latest round of violence broke. News reports say that he is currently sheltered in the US territory of Puerto Rico.
In October, the UN Security Council finally gave the nod for a multinational police force for deployment in Haiti to maintain law and order, the force was to be led by Kenya. However, the Kenyan court has stalled the decision to deploy the country’s policemen in a foreign nation.
CARICOM, the multinational alliance of Caribbean nations, has summoned ambassadors from Canada, USA, France and UN to come and meet in Jamaica to discuss the issue of Haiti and ways to handle the violence.
At present, as the poverty and violence-stricken nation grapples with anarchy and chaos, there is a looming danger of imminent starvation. Food imports are being looted as security officials have failed to secure a perimeter around the main port. NGOs who are working in Haiti have warned of imminent starvation in the country if they fail to access and secure the shipping containers bringing food and aid to Haiti.
