On Monday, Haiti’s neighbors began bolstering their defenses and recalling embassy staff as the gang conflict in the Caribbean nation escalated. In response, Haiti's de facto government issued a 72-hour state of emergency and imposed nightly curfews.
The violence erupted while Haiti’s PM was seeking foreign aid for the country’s gang problem in Africa. He managed to seal a deal for Kenya to lead an international force to help fight the increasingly powerful gangs.
Reactions around the worldChaos in Haiti as 4,000 inmates break out of prison sparking jail 'massacre': State of emergency and curfew declared as gangs led by mob boss 'Barbecue' join forces in bid to overthrow PM https://t.co/7a5r4cyn10 pic.twitter.com/zm7PiSZTKe
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) March 4, 2024
The Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti and last year deported tens of thousands of Haitians, said on Monday that its defense minister was touring the border to supervise progress on a border fence, while the president ruled out opening refugee camps for Haitians in the country.
The United States embassy in Haiti urged its citizens to leave Haiti “as soon as possible.”
Brazil’s government called on the international community to implement the U.N.’s resolution to send a multinational force to Haiti. Brazil’s authorities noted in a statement that it had led a United Nations peace mission to Haiti from 2004 to 2017.Haiti: The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince will be on limited operations tomorrow, Monday March 4. Embassy operations may be further affected during the week because of gang-related violence and its effects on transportation and infrastructure. For More: https://t.co/WSW8rEioju pic.twitter.com/TVKLhOCrLN
— Travel - State Dept (@TravelGov) March 3, 2024
The neighboring Bahamas said it had called embassy staff back to New Providence, leaving just its charge d’affaires and two security attaches, while Mexico said its nationals should limit themselves to essential transit and stock up on water, fuel, and non-perishables.
Countries also pledged to send security personnel to the gang-infested country, with the largest number of peacekeepers coming from Benin, which offered 1,500 people, according to the U.N., and Kenya, which late last week sealed a deal with Henry to lead the mission with some 1,000 police officers.
Haiti's national police have meanwhile shed staff as poorly resourced officers face deadly clashes with gangs armed with assault weapons, believed to be largely trafficked from the United States.
A desperate population
Gangs have warned residents around Port-au-Prince to keep children home, although the Haitian government has stipulated that schools will stay open.
The International Organization for Migration said that in just three days last week, around 15,000 people were estimated to have fled gunfire in the capital, many of them from makeshift camps in schools, hospitals, and squares to which they had already been displaced.
The United Nations estimated early this year that some 300,000 people had been forced to abandon their homes, fleeing indiscriminate killings, routine sexual violence, kidnappings, and lootings as well-armed rival gangs fought over territory.
