The Haitian government has declared a 72-hour state of emergency in and around the capital. Evening curfew has also been imposed. On Monday (March 4), the British press-BBC reported the news.
The Haitian government said the decision was made due to increased violence by armed gangs and the escape of thousands of inmates from the country’s two largest prisons, due to insecurity.
The curfew will be in force from 6 pm local time till 5 am the next day. And the state of emergency will continue till next Wednesday.
Armed gangs control a large part of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. From Thursday, fresh violence started there. Gang members attacked the city’s main jail on Saturday night. At least 12 people were killed. Thousands of prisoners escaped from the prison.
The armed group wants to overthrow the current Prime Minister of Haiti, Ariel Henry. Henry has been in power since the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moisi.
As the prison attack unfolded on Thursday, the prime minister was in Nairobi to discuss sending a Kenyan-led multinational security force to Haiti.
At that time, the police called on the Haitian army for help. But the gang members attacked again late on Saturday night.
There were 3,800 prisoners in the National Penitentiary. About 100 of them are still in jail.
Meanwhile, another prison, Croix des Bouquets, was also attacked. There were 1,450 prisoners. However, it is not known how many people escaped from there.
Violence has recently escalated in Haiti following an attempt to oust Prime Minister Henri. The gang led by Jimmy Cherryjie joins hands with several other gangs to get rid of Henry.
Violence has been rife in Haiti since the assassination of President Moisi. The post of President there is still vacant. There have been no elections in Haiti since 2016. Under the political agreement, the Prime Minister resigned by February 7 this year, and elections were supposed to be held. But it didn’t happen.
According to the United Nations, at least 8,400 people were victims of gang violence in Haiti in January last year, which is almost double the number in 2022.
