Haiti Extends A State Of Emergency And Nighttime Curfew To Try And Repel Widespread Gang Attacks
PM Ariel Henry has been unable to return to Haiti, as gangs have targeted nation’s international airport
Haiti’s government said Thursday that it was extending a state of emergency and nighttime curfew to try and curb violent gang attacks that have paralyzed the capital of Port-au-Prince in a fierce battle for political power.
An initial three-day curfew was announced over the weekend, but gangs have continued to attack police stations and other state institutions at night as Haiti’s National Police struggles to contain the violence with limited staff and resources.
“The people with the guns are essentially the current arbiter of Haitian politics,” said Robert Fatton, a Haitian politics expert at the University of Virginia. “The gangs have won the battle so far.”
The attacks began a week ago, shortly after embattled Prime Minister Ariel Henry agreed to hold general elections in mid-2025 while attending a meeting of Caribbean leaders in Guyana.
He then flew to Kenya to push for the deployment of a U.N.-backed police force from the East African country to help fight gangs in Haiti.
But a court in January ruled that the deployment was unconstitutional, and it wasn’t clear if the force would deploy given the worsening violence in Haiti.
Source:Fox
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