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re: HAITI ANARCHY; Men Fighting Gang Leader Barbecue For Power
Haiti Violence: State of Emergency Declared After MASS Jailbreak
The government of Haiti declared a 72-hour state of emergency on Sunday after armed gangs stormed a major Port-au-Prince prison, leading to the killing of at least 12 people and the escape of around 4,000 inmates.
The Guardian 4 MAR 2024
Gang leaders say they want to force the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is currently abroad.
The groups aiming to oust him control around 80% of Port-au-Prince.
Violent gang wars have killed thousands in the country since 2020.
A government statement said two prisons - one in the capital and the other in nearby Croix des Bouquets - were stormed over the weekend.
It said the acts of "disobedience" were a threat to national security and said it was instituting an immediate night-time curfew in response, which started at 20:00 local time (01:00 GMT on Monday).
Among those detained in Port-au-Prince were gang members charged in connection with the 2021 killing of President Jovenel Moïse.
The latest upsurge in violence began on Thursday, when the prime minister travelled to Nairobi to discuss sending a Kenya-led multinational security force to Haiti.
Gang leader Jimmy Chérizier (nicknamed "Barbecue") declared a co-ordinated attack to remove him.
"All of us, the armed groups in the provincial towns and the armed groups in the capital, are united," said the former police officer, who is thought to be behind several massacres in Port-au-Prince.
Haiti's police union had asked the military to help reinforce the capital's main prison, but the compound was stormed late on Saturday.
On Sunday the doors of the prison were still open and there were no signs of officers, Reuters news agency reported. Three inmates who tried to flee lay dead in the courtyard, the report said.
A journalist for the AFP news agency who visited the prison saw around 10 bodies, some with signs of injuries caused by bullets.
One volunteer prison worker told the Reuters news agency that 99 prisoners - including former Colombian soldiers jailed over President Moïse's murder - had chosen to remain in their cells for fear of being killed in crossfire.
Violence has been rife since President Moïse's assassination in his home in 2021. He has not been replaced and elections have not been held since 2016.
Under a political deal, Mr Henry was due to stand down by 7 February. But planned elections were not held and he remains in post.
Haiti has not had a single elected government official since the term of the last elected senators expired in January 2023.
Speaking to the BBC, Claude Joseph - who was serving as acting prime minister when President Moïse was assassinated and who is now head of the opposition party called "Those Committed to Development" - said Haiti was living through a "nightmare".
Mr Joseph said PM Henry wanted "to stay as long as possible in charge".
"He agreed to step down on 7 February. Now he decides to stay, despite the fact that there are huge protests throughout the country asking him to step down but its unfortunate that now those criminals are using violent means to force him to step down."
In January, the UN said more than 8,400 people were victims of Haiti's gang violence last year, including killings, injuries and kidnappings - more than double the numbers seen in 2022.
Anger at the shocking levels of violence, on top of the political vacuum, have led to several demonstrations against the government, with protesters demanding the resignation of the prime minister.
MORE;
Kenyan Police to Tackle Haiti Gang Violence?: Can Kenya Succeed Where Others Failed?...
The UN Security Council backed Kenya's offer to lead a multinational security force to Haiti
Around 1,000 Kenyan police officers are set to be deployed to Haiti in a bid to combat raging gang violence.
Last year, Kenya volunteered to lead a multinational security force in the troubled Caribbean nation.
Yet in January the High Court BLOCKED the plan, ruling the government did not have the authority to deploy police to other countries without an agreement.
It also ruled that the National Security Council lacks the legal authority to send police outside Kenya.
On Thursday, Haiti's PM arrived in the East African state to salvage the plan.
In January, a UN envoy said that gang violence in Haiti had reached "a critical point", with nearly 5,000 deaths reported last year, more than double the number seen in 2022. While in that month alone, more than 1,100 people were killed, injured or kidnapped.
In a statement on Friday, Kenyan President William Ruto said he and Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry had signed an agreement and discussed the next steps to enable the fast-tracking of the deployment.
Along with the Kenyan officers, the Bahamas has committed 150 personnel. Jamaica and the state of Antigua & Barbuda have said they are willing to help, while the US has pledged £158m ($200m) to support the deployment.
Earlier this week, Benin offered 2,000 troops.
However, many Kenyans are opposed to the deployment, arguing that security challenges need to first be tackled at home.
Opposition politician Ekuru Aukot, who filed the initial petition against the deployment, told the AFP news agency on Friday that he would lodge a case "for contempt of court".
"We will question the validity of this secretive agreement," he said.
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