Haiti waiting.
Residents of the Caribbean island are still waiting Friday for the appointment of a transitional presidential council following the resignation of disputed Prime Minister Ariel Henry, in cautious hopes that the new authorities will put the gang-ravaged country on the path to recovery. stability.
But after a few days of relative calm, violence was recorded in Port-au-Prince, 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 in protest.
Shooting targeted the capital's airport on Thursday, near which a police officer was injured, and the residence of the director general of police himself was looted and burned, according to a police union.
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Crisis in Haiti: resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, faced with pressure from gangs
The nighttime curfew was extended until Sunday in the West department, encompassing Port-au-Prince, to try to “regain control of the situation” according to the Prime Minister's office, which is currently handling matters. common.
The region is under a state of emergency until April 3.
“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 one-month curfew is laudable (…), but this is not how it should be,” lamented Edner Petit, a resident of Port -au-Prince.
The Haitian Medical Association expressed Thursday its “dismay” at “the forced closure of hospitals” and “acts of physical violence against healthcare personnel.”
An “air bridge” with the Dominican Republic
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.
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The news came during 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.
This council must be composed of seven 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.
The United Nations indicated that it would 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, in addition to the $33 million announced by Foreign Minister Antony Blinken at the start of the week.