Haiti's government has declared a 72-hour state of emergency following a fierce battle between the country's police and powerful armed gangs over the weekend. Meanwhile, the whereabouts of Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry were unknown Monday, three days after he signed a bilateral agreement in Kenya to pave the way for a possible multinational force to help restore security in the troubled Caribbean nation.
Armed gangs stepped up attacks on critical infrastructure over the weekend, including police stations and two prisons in the Haitian capital. Thousands of prisoners fled the Haitian National Penitentiary in the capital during a Saturday night shootout between national police and an alliance of armed gangs.
Since Thursday, gang violence has escalated in the Caribbean nation after the prime minister left for Kenya. At least 15,000 people have been displaced by the clashes.
Authorities in Haiti say they are enforcing a nighttime curfew. A 72-hour state of emergency has also been declared in the wake of the violence. The National Penitentiary previously held nearly 4,000 prisoners; 99 prisoners reportedly remained inside the prison.
It is unclear how many prisoners died in the jailbreak. Among the bodies found outside the building were civilians caught in the crossfire. Henry's government has not officially commented on the events in Haiti.
Haiti's National Penitentiary housed several high-profile prisoners. Among them: Cholzer Chancy, former president of the Chamber of Deputies who led parliament between 2016 and 2018; Joseph Felix Badio, a key suspect in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise; Clifford Brandt, a convicted drug dealer who is the son of one of Haiti's richest men.
Marcelin Myrthil, arrested in connection with the grassroots anti-gang Bwa Kale movement, was also detained at the prison. The Bwa Kale movement targeted suspected gang members, many of whom were hunted down by citizens and lynched or executed in the streets. Myrthil distributed machetes to communities plagued by gang violence and encouraged civilians to execute suspected thugs.
A 2022 Human Rights Watch report on Haiti's prisons cited overcrowding, lack of food and drinkable water, and unsanitary conditions that led to disease outbreaks. World Prison Brief, a nongovernmental organization that monitors prisons worldwide, found that Haiti's prisons were 302 percent over capacity in 2020.
Jimmy Cherizier, known as "Barbecue," leader of Haiti's powerful G9 gang alliance, told journalists last week that rival gangs had "united" and launched a "revolution" to remove Prime Minister Henry from power. On Friday, he appealed to national police officers to join the gangs' efforts. Cherizier, a former police officer, said the goal was to prevent Henry from returning to the country.
Henry is currently overseas. He traveled to Kenya last week to drum up support for an international security force to intervene in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The United Nations has authorized the force to help Haiti combat gang violence and restore security.
In Kenya, Henry and Kenyan President William Ruto signed a long-awaited bilateral agreement that paves the way for 1,000 Kenyan police officers to lead the proposed multinational force. Ruto said the urgency of the mission could not be overstated.
However, the signing of the document doesn't legalize the deployment of Kenyan police, as a recent ruling by Kenya's High Court found such a move unconstitutional. The Kenyan government has not commented on Henry's whereabouts since Friday's signing ceremony.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterees is deeply concerned about the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, his spokesman said on Monday.
“The Secretary-General reiterates the need for urgent action, particularly in providing financial support for the non-UN Multinational Security Support mission, to address the pressing security requirements of the Haitian people and prevent the country from plunging further into chaos,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said in a press briefing.
Through his spokesperson, Guterres also called on the Haitian Government and other political actors to swiftly agree on the necessary steps to advance the political process towards the restoration of democratic institutions through the holding of elections.
The United Nations estimates that more than 5.5 million people in the country - nearly half the population - will require humanitarian assistance this year. Among those in need are nearly 3 million children - the highest number ever recorded.
Violent armed gangs control much of the capital, are gaining control of Port-au-Prince, and have spread to other parts of the country. They have committed massacres, kidnappings, human trafficking and sexual violence. An estimated two million people, including 1.6 million women and children, live in areas effectively controlled by the gangs.
In 2023, Haiti saw the highest number of murders, kidnappings, lynchings, and sexual assaults in the past five years. More than 313,000 people are currently internally displaced due to violence in the country, according to figures released in January.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 60 percent were displaced in 2023 alone, illustrating a worsening humanitarian situation over the past year. Children make up nearly 55 percent of the displaced - some 170,000.
The spiral of violence has severely disrupted all socio-economic activities and the free movement of people and goods, particularly in Port-au-Prince. Armed gangs have escalated attacks on hospitals, schools, playgrounds, markets and transportation to alarming levels.
The escalating security situation has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis, with basic services on the verge of collapse and more than 40 percent of the population, some 4.35 million people, facing acute hunger.
An estimated 1.4 million people are suffering from emergency levels of hunger. Some 276,000 children under five as well as pregnant and lactating women are at risk of acute malnutrition, including more than 125,000 severe cases.
Some information for this report provided by VOA.