(Port-au-Prince) The situation remains “explosive” Friday in Port-au-Prince according to the UN, at a time when Haitians are awaiting the appointment of transitional authorities after the resignation of the contested prime minister, with the hope cautious that the country ravaged by gangs can embark on the path to stability.
After a few days of relative calm, violence was recorded in the capital, which is 80% in the hands of armed gangs. On two main roads in the city center, residents erected barricades to try to protect themselves from gang attacks, but also as a sign of protest, according to an AFP correspondent.
The situation in Port-au-Prince remains “explosive and tense,” said the UN humanitarian operations office (Ocha).
Shooting targeted the capital’s airport on Thursday and the residence of the director general of police himself was looted and burned, according to a police union.
The night curfew was extended until Sunday in the West department, including Port-au-Prince, according to the Prime Minister’s office which is currently handling current affairs.
“There are lots of prison escapees on the streets. The situation is steadily getting worse. The decision to declare a state of emergency in Haiti with a curfew […] is commendable […]but this is not how it should be,” lamented Edner Petit, a resident of Port-au-Prince.
The Haitian Medical Association, for its part, expressed its “dismay” at “the forced closure of hospitals” and “acts of physical violence against healthcare personnel”.
Disagreements
PHOTO VALERIE BAERISWYL, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Prime Minister Ariel Henry
On Monday evening, Prime Minister Ariel Henry, whose mandate was marked by a rise in gang power and who was appointed a few days before the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, announced that he was resigning.
The news came in the middle of an emergency meeting of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) with Haitian representatives, the UN and several countries such as the United States. These groups tasked Haitian groups with setting up a presidential transition council.
Several of the chosen parties have submitted the name of their representative to Caricom, several sources told AFP.
Initially, the members of the December 21 collective, the group which supported Ariel Henry, were unable to agree on a single representative and designated three.
But they are in talks to find a consensus candidate, according to sources close to the negotiations.
The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken said Friday he was confident that the council could see the light of day “in the days to come”.
“It wasn’t going to happen in a linear fashion,” he said. “But we see that it is moving forward.”
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has a “clear message. He wants all Haitian stakeholders to put aside their differences” to advance the establishment of provisional authorities, according to his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.
Humanitarian aid
The transitional presidential council must be composed of seven voting members representing the main political forces in Haiti and the private sector. He must choose an interim prime minister and appoint an “inclusive” government.
Excluded will be people charged or convicted by the courts, under UN sanctions, intending to run in the next elections in Haiti and/or opposing the UN resolution on the deployment of a multinational mission of security support.
Kenya, which must deploy a thousand police officers as part of this mission, announced that it would suspend the sending of its men, but assured that it would intervene once a presidential council was installed.
According to the World Food Program (WFP), 44% of the Haitian population is in a situation of acute food insecurity.
The United Nations has indicated that it will set up an “air bridge” between Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic to allow “the fluidity of humanitarian aid”.
The United States, for its part, announced additional humanitarian aid of $25 million on Friday. These funds will notably support the UN and NGOs with food aid, emergency care and drinking water.