Haiti declared a state of emergency and imposed a nighttime curfew following a chaotic and deadly surge of violence in which armed gangs raided the country’s two largest prisons, leading to the escape of thousands of inmates.
At least 12 people have been killed since the mutiny erupted last Thursday as armed gangs carried out coordinated attacks in the capital city of Port-au-Prince, storming government buildings, jails, police stations, the airport, and the national soccer stadium in a bid to capture Haiti’s police chief and key government officials.
The attacks culminated with the explosive prison break on Saturday night.
The attack was aimed at preventing Prime Minister Ariel Henry from returning to the country from Kenya, where he had flown late last week after attending a summit with other Caribbean leaders to address the persistent unrest in Haiti, which was undermining trade and economic progress throughout the region. Henry and Kenyan leaders reached an agreement for the African nation to send 1,000 police officers to Haiti to help fight gangs.
Gang violence has been responsible for thousands of deaths in Haiti since 2020, with the latest outbreak of hostilities causing further damage to Henry’s tumultuous helm.
Even though he was out of the country, Henry continued efforts to gather support for a United Nations security force to assist in stabilizing the country as he faced growing pressure to resign due to his repeated delays in organizing parliamentary and presidential elections, which have not been held in almost ten years.
Violence has gripped the country since Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in July 2021, which put Henry in charge.
Despite a political deal for Henry to step down in February, elections were not held, leaving Haiti without a president or a stable government. The country has not had elected officials since senate terms expired in January 2023, leading to increased tensions with the…
Read the full article here
