Unbearable scenes of chaos.
The situation in Haiti is “horrible” and “almost out of a scene from
Mad Max
”, a film which depicts a postapocalyptic future, the executive director of Unicef said on Sunday.
For several weeks now, this Caribbean country, which is among the poorest in the world, has been living under the terror of gangs and sinking into a spiral of violence.
“Many, many people are seriously suffering from hunger and malnutrition, and we are unable to provide them with enough help,” lamented Catherine Russell in an interview with the American channel CBS.
Haiti has become the scene of an outbreak of violence by gangs, who control entire swaths of the country, including 80% of the capital Port-au-Prince, and are accused of numerous abuses, including murders, rapes and kidnappings against ransom.
Haitians are awaiting the establishment of a transitional presidential council after the announcement of the resignation of contested Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is now in charge of current affairs.
On Sunday, the curfew was extended until Wednesday in the West department, which includes the capital.
The state of emergency is due to end on April 3.
VIDEO.
Crisis in Haiti: resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, faced with pressure from gangs
Unheard of “for decades”
“One way or another, we have to take more control of the situation, so as to get aid into Haiti,” argued Catherine Russell, citing the litany of disasters that have affected the country for nearly aged 15: “earthquakes, cholera, Covid…”.
The current situation is now “the worst anyone has seen in decades,” she noted.
Kenya, which must deploy a thousand police officers as part of a multinational security mission, announced that it would suspend the sending of its men, but assured that it would intervene once a presidential council was installed.
The Port-au-Prince airport, which gangs have taken control of according to Unicef, remains closed.
The UN mission in Haiti announced on Wednesday the establishment as soon as possible of an “air bridge” between the country and the neighboring Dominican Republic by helicopter, in particular to facilitate the delivery of aid. humanitarian.
Also read: Haiti in a state of emergency: “The gangs have sowed terror everywhere”, the daily life of residents on a “paralyzed” island
The capital's main port has also been at a standstill since March 7, facing acts of "sabotage and vandalism" according to its operator, complicating the delivery of international aid.
A Unicef container, “including crucial maternal, neonatal and child health supplies”, was looted on Saturday at this port, the UN agency announced in a press release.
“This incident comes at a critical time, when children need it most,” added the UN body, according to which more than three million of them require humanitarian aid, “the highest figure ever recorded in the country ".
Washington evacuates around thirty nationals
“Children and their families suffer incessant waves of brutal abuses committed by armed groups,” UNICEF also deplored in a press release last week.
According to him, at least 167 boys and girls died from gunshot wounds last year.
The situation on the ground is so worrying that the UN has evacuated its non-essential staff and several countries have done the same with their diplomatic staff, including the European Union.
The United States also announced on Monday that it had taken more than 30 American nationals out of the country aboard a charter flight chartered by the government which landed in Florida on Sunday.
The plane took off from the country's second city, Cap-Haïtien, where the airport is open "periodically", according to the American embassy.
A week earlier, Washington had already evacuated part of its embassy staff and reinforced the teams responsible for its security.