Haiti, a country already plagued by poverty and political instability, is now facing another crisis - the rise of gangs in its capital city. Port-au-Prince has become a battleground for rival gang factions, leading to widespread violence and chaos. Thousands of residents have been displaced from their homes, forced to flee for safety as gang rule tightens its grip on the city.
The situation in Haiti is dire, with innocent civilians caught in the crossfire of gang warfare. The government's inability to control the escalating violence has only exacerbated the crisis, leaving many feeling abandoned and hopeless. International aid organizations are struggling to provide assistance to those affected by the conflict, but resources are limited and the need is overwhelming.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “deeply concerned” by the situation in Haiti, as a surge in gang violence has displaced tens of thousands of people and effectively paralysed the capital of Port-au-Prince.
Guterres’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Monday that the city faces a “rapidly deteriorating security situation”.
A 72-hour state of emergency began Sunday night. The government said it would try to track down the escaped inmates, including from a penitentiary were the vast majority were in pre-trial detention, with some accused of slayings, kidnappings and other crimes.
“The police were ordered to use all legal means at their disposal to enforce the curfew and apprehend all offenders,” said a statement from Finance Minister Patrick Boivert, the acting prime minister.
Haitians blame their prime minister for rapidly ceding ground to the gangs over the past three years, while refusing to organize elections that would bring in a new government and give the country a fresh start. Henry and his allies say that the current insecurity would make a free and fair vote impossible, but such explanations do little to appease popular outrage.
Earlier this month, when rumors swirled in one Port-au-Prince neighborhood that a local police station would be closed, fed-up residents quickly spilled into the streets, toppling a bus and burning tires as they called for Henry’s ouster.
"The mothers can't get jobs. So they're in my care. So that's how I ended up with 17 little ones," she said. "And right now and sometimes people give birth at the hospital, they don't come back for them. So I take them home and the orphanage is in my house."
Jimmy Chérizier, a former elite police officer known as Barbecue who now runs a gang federation, has claimed responsibility for the surge in attacks. He said the goal is to capture Haiti’s police chief and government ministers and prevent Henry’s return.
The prime minister, a neurosurgeon, has shrugged off calls for him to resign and didn’t comment when asked if he felt it was safe to come home.
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