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The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, is “deeply concerned” about the situation in Haiti, as increase in gang violence has displaced tens of thousands of people and effectively paralyzed the capital of Port-au-Prince.
Guterres spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told reporters on Monday that the city faces a “rapidly deteriorating security situation.”
“Armed gangs have intensified their attacks on critical infrastructure over the weekend, including police stations and two penitentiaries,” he said, conveying the secretary-general’s concerns.
Haiti has been plagued by widespread gang violence for more than two years, since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021.
The de facto leader of the country, Prime Minister Ariel Henry, whom Moise elected to office just days before he was assassinated, has faced a legitimacy crisis. Attempts to chart a political transition for Haiti have failed and armed groups have struggled to fill the power vacuum.
The resulting violence has prevented access to health care facilities, forced school closures, and worsened an already dire hunger crisis by depriving residents of gang-controlled areas of critical supplies.
The situation deteriorated further on Saturday when gunmen invaded Port-au-Prince’s main penitentiary and another nearby prison, freeing thousands of inmates in a raid that left several people dead.
The Haitian government declared declared a state of emergency on Sunday night and imposed a three-day nightly curfew to try to restore order.
But some of Haiti’s most powerful gang leaders, including Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizierwho heads the powerful G9 gang alliance, say their goal is to take down Henry.
The Haitian prime minister was in Kenya last week when the latest unrest began. The visit was intended to reactivate plans for a possible UN-backed police deployment to Haiti to help stop gang violence in the country.
The two countries have signed a “reciprocal” agreement to deploy police from the East African country to Haiti, Kenyan President William Ruto said on Friday, but it remains unclear if and when the deployment could happen.
“Henry has not made any public announcement or been seen since Friday, when he was in Nairobi,” Renata Segura, deputy director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit think tank, wrote in a post. on social media on Monday afternoon.
“With already very limited control of power, Henry’s silence says it all.”
Critical days in #Haiti, and gangs intensify attacks against state infrastructure. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ariel Henry has not made any public announcement or been seen since Friday when he was in Nairobi. With already very limited control of power, Henry’s silence says it all.
—Renata Segura (@renaticas) March 4, 2024
Some Haitian civil society leaders have raised concerns around the prospect of international intervention, arguing that history has shown that foreign forces bring “more problems than solutions” to the country.
They say Safeguards need to be implemented to protect Haitians from the problems that have arisen in the past. In recent years, for example, a UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti was marred by sexual abuse claims and links to a deadly cholera outbreak.
But Haiti’s national police are underfunded and ill-equipped to respond to the gangs, which the U.N. estimates control about 80 percent of the capital. Many Port-au-Prince residents are desperate for an ending to violence, and some resort to “vigilante justice“.
William O’Neill, the UN-appointed expert on human rights in Haiti, told Al Jazeera that a foreign force could help reinforce the Haitian police. “The Haitian National Police is overwhelmed and outgunned,” he said.
“One of the biggest problems is the massive flow of weapons and ammunition from the United States to Haiti. “They need support, they have been begging for support.”
O’Neill added that an international force in Haiti must be “well led, well equipped, [and] with the appropriate mandate.”
“What if there is no strength? “You are going to spiral downwards towards the chaos and violence that you just saw last weekend.”
In Port-au-Prince on Monday, an Agence France-Presse journalist said some locals were on the streets looking to buy water and fuel.
Schools and banks were closed amid the latest spike in violence, and people took shelter for safety reasons in schools, sports facilities, gyms and public buildings, often without adequate bathrooms, sanitation facilities or drinking water.
“This morning, the city is paralyzed,” Carlotta Pianigiani, coordinator in Port-au-Prince of the medical NGO Alima, told the news agency.
“Public transport is practically paralyzed, private vehicles are scarce and schools are closed. Some roads are also blocked.”
Pianigiani said 15,000 people were displaced in the recent unrest and the largest public hospital suspended operations last week. He added that the situation was already “very tense.”
Meanwhile, Doctors without bordersMSF, known by its French acronym, said early Sunday that its Tabarre hospital in Port-au-Prince added 20 beds to respond to the increase in wounded arriving for treatment.
Since the end of February, the hospital has received at least 10 injured patients every day as a result of armed clashes.
“MSF needs medical supplies that are now located in the city’s port but are currently not accessible. MSF is very concerned about the possibility of running out of supplies,” the group posted on social media.
“Tens of thousands of people had to flee their homes, leaving everything behind, and are now displaced in different areas of Port-au-Prince.”
The widespread violence has caused numerous injuries in Port-au-Prince, #Haitiin recent days, in response to the announcement that the elections will be postponed until August 2025. MSF’s Tabarre hospital, which provides trauma and burn care, has increased its bed capacity to treat the injured.
— MSF International (@MSF) March 3, 2024
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