U. S. military aircraft lands in besieged Haitian capital
The Bid en administra-tion sent so rely needed re-inforcement s to the Haiti National Police on Tues-day, deploying a U.S. mili-tary aircraft to Port-a u-Prince weeks after notify-ing Congress it would be providing millions of dol-lars’ worth of weapons and ammunition to help offi-cers take on ruthless gan gs.
The first aircraft to land on the country’ s main run-way since an insurgency by armed groups forced the cancellation of all domestic and international flights into the capital, the mili-tary aircraft landed shortly before 11 a.m. Armed gangs are continuing to launch at-tacks on parts of the capital ahead of the swearing-in of a nine-member presiden-tial council to lead a new political transition in the country.
U.S. officials have not yet said what exactly was aboard the flight. Close to 20 officers have been killed or injured and 22 police sta-tions have been pillaged or burned since the coordi-nated gang attacks erupted on Feb .29. Since then, Port-a u-Prince has remained under siege.
Targeting key govern-ment infrastructure s with automatic gunfire and loot-ing, armed groups have de-stroyed and burned dozens of hospitals, schools, busi-nesses and government buildings. They have also launched a series of simulta-neous attacks in an attempt to take the international air-port and the National Palace, which until now re-main under the control of the Haiti National Police members of the small Armed Forces of Haiti.
On Monday, as the United Nations Security Council met in New York to discuss the situation in Haiti, two voice recordings attributed to gang leader Jimmy“Barbecue” Chérizi er circulated on so-cial media. The voice urged the burning of houses in the Lower Del mas neigh-borhood of the capital which is under the gangleader’s control.
As they met, Security Council members contin-ued to urge for the swift de-ployment of a multina-tional security force, led by Kenya, to assist the Haiti National Police. So far, nei-ther the U.S., which sup-ports the Kenya-led mis-sion, nor Kenya has pro-vided a timetable for themission’s deployment.
Of the 1,000 Kenyan offi-cers who are supposed to serve as the backbone ofthe force, 400 have been vet-ted to make sure they havenot committed human-rights violations — a re-quirement for deployment— while another 250 Jamai-cans have also been vetted, the State Department said.
The ongoing attacks in Haiti have led to the death sor injuries of more than2,500 Haitians since the be-ginning of the year, the deadliest three-months since the United Nations began tracking armed vio-lence by gangs in 2021. The attacks have also exacer-bated an increasingly dire humanitarian crisis. Morethan with 5 million Hai-tians are in need of assis-tance while some 360,000Haitians have had to flee their homes.
Last month, President Joe Biden ordered Secre-tary of State Antony Blinken to notify Congress of the intent to draw down$10 million worth of weap-ons and ammunition from U.S. agencies to send to Haiti. The donation of fire-arms and bulletproof vests to the Haiti National Police marks the first time the U.S. will provide the coun-try with weapons. It is also the first time the U.S. willbe assisting the Armed Forces of Haiti.
Earlier this month, Mr. Biden authorized the State Department to notify Con-gress of the intent to directa draw down of up to $60million to provide neces-sary support to partner countries, including Kenya, Jamaica, and The Bahamas, for their person-nel to participate in the Multinational Security Support Mission to Haiti.