The UN Security Council expressed concern on Wednesday about the "critical" situation in Haiti, where a gang leader threatened to trigger a "civil war" if Prime Minister Ariel Henry, increasingly under pressure, did not resign.
The state of emergency, declared this Sunday in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, will be extended by one month, we learned this Thursday.
A nighttime curfew is also in place.
Criminal gangs, which control most of the capital Port-au-Prince as well as the roads leading to the rest of the territory, have in recent days attacked strategic sites in this poor Caribbean country, including several prisons. where thousands of detainees were able to escape.
Also readCrisis in Haiti: who is “Barbecue”, this powerful gang leader who sows terror in Port-au-Prince?
Faced with this escalation, the UN Security Council met urgently on Wednesday.
“The situation is critical,” commented Ecuadorian Ambassador José Javier De la Gasca Lopez Dominguez after the meeting.
An influential gang leader, Jimmy Chérizier, assured Tuesday that if Ariel Henry did not resign and if the international community continued to support him, the country was going “straight towards a civil war which will lead to genocide”.
“Either Haiti becomes a paradise for all of us, or a hell for all of us,” said this 46-year-old former police officer, nicknamed “Barbecue”.
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“Barbecue”, the gang leader who terrorizes Haiti
In the midst of a state of emergency and nighttime curfew, while administrations and schools remain closed, many try to flee the violence with their few belongings under their arms, the others only venturing out to buy the essential.
Flight of 15,000 people
The escalation in recent days has forced 15,000 people to flee their homes in Port-au-Prince, according to the UN, which has started distributing food and basic necessities to them.
One of these displaced people, Jhonnyy Desmion, testified to AFP on Wednesday that he had fled his home “leaving everything”.
He also had to leave a center for displaced people, attacked by a gang, he said.
Wednesday evening, heavily armed members of the police stood guard around strategic locations in Port-au-Prince.
“We have no authorities, no leaders, we have no one, we have nothing,” Linda Antoine, a trader in the city, told AFP.
" It's every man for himself ".
Also read: Haiti in a state of emergency: “The gangs have sowed terror everywhere”, the daily life of residents on a “paralyzed” island
The association of private hospitals in Haiti launched an appeal for help in the face of a “critical situation” marked by “a severe shortage of essential medical inputs, fuel and oxygen”, attacks against several establishments and the risks incurred by medical personnel when going to work.
“No alternative”
Armed groups say they want to overthrow the Prime Minister appointed by President Jovenel Moïse just before his assassination in 2021, and who should have left office at the beginning of February.
The country, currently without a president or parliament, has not had an election since 2016.
“Despite numerous meetings, we have not been able to find consensus between the government and various opposition actors, the private sector, civil society and religious organizations,” lamented Guyana President Mohamed Irfaan Ali on Wednesday. , which holds the rotating presidency of the Caribbean Community (Caricom).
In Washington, American diplomacy is urging Ariel Henry to “accelerate the transition” towards “free and fair elections” and is demanding “concessions in the interest of the Haitian people”.
However, “we are absolutely not pushing the Prime Minister to resign,” said the White House.
Unable to return to Haiti, Ariel Henry landed Tuesday evening in Puerto Rico, returning from Kenya, where he tried to finally put a multinational force to help the displaced police on track.
“There is no alternative” to this mission in the face of a “more than unbearable” situation, underlined the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk.
“Staggering level” of violence
Due to violence, political crisis and years of drought, 5.5 million Haitians, almost half the population, are in need of humanitarian assistance.
But the UN's appeal for donations - $674 million for 2024 - is only 2.5% funded.
After months of procrastination, the Security Council gave its agreement in October to send a multinational mission led by Kenya which wants to send 1,000 police officers.
But its deployment is delayed by the Kenyan justice system and a glaring lack of funding.
Nairobi and Port-au-Prince signed a bilateral agreement on Friday but no date has been given for the arrival of the mission.
At the end of February, five other countries notified their intention to participate in the mission in a country undermined by kidnappings, snipers on roofs, sexual violence used to install fear...
In early January, UN chief Antonio Guterres said he was "dismayed" by the "staggering level" of gang violence, with the number of homicides more than doubling in 2023, with nearly 5,000 people killed, including 2,700 civilians.