Haiti descends into violence as armed gangs roam streets
A state of emergency has been declared in Haiti, after armed gangs stormed two prisons and called for the resignation of prime minister Ariel Henry.
The 72-hour state of emergency began on Sunday night. The government said it would set out to find the killers, kidnappers and other criminals who fled.
The gangs began their coordinated attacks on state institutions in Port-au-prince on Saturday. Targets included police stations, the country’s international airport and even the national football stadium, where one employee was taken hostage for hours.
However, it was Saturday night when the assault on two prisons, including the National Penitentiary and another in nearby Croix des Bouquets, took place. Around 3,700 inmates escaped.
At least 12 people were killed in the violence. Three bodies with gunshot wounds lay at the prison entrance, while in another neighbourhood, the bloodied corpses of two men with their hands tied behind their backs lay face down as residents walked past roadblocks set up with burning tyres.
A statement from finance minister Patrick Boivert, the acting prime minister, said: “The police were ordered to use all legal means at their disposal to enforce the curfew and apprehend all offenders.”
It is estimated around 80 per cent of Haiti’s capital, Port-auprince, is controlled by criminal gangs.
The gangs, of which there are believed to be hundreds, are opposed to Mr Henry’s rule of Haiti. Violence has been rife in Haiti since 2001 and gangs have intensified their control of strategic areas increasing violence, including at the main fuel terminal in Port-au-prince, and preventing the distribution of fuel.
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.
Since the weekend, the gang has called for the resignation of Mr Henry, who was abroad at the time the violence broke out, to try to salvage support for bringing in a United Nations-backed security force to stabilise the country in its conflict with increasingly powerful crime groups.
Gang leader Jimmy Chérizier, otherwise known as “Barbecue”, announced a coordinated 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.
Mr Henry was due to stand down by February 7. However, elections were not held and he remains in post. He returned from Kenya on Monday afternoon. Gangs had previously said they would arrest him as soon as he arrived back in the country.
Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, Mr Henry has led the government. However, he did so without a constitutional mandate, without parliamentary approval.
The armed groups in the provincial towns and the capital are united Gang leader Jimmy Chérizier