2024-03-11 08:45:29
The United States has evacuated some of its consular staff in Haiti, while strengthening the security of its embassy. Germany also evacuates its ambassador and other representatives of the European Union. All this while the island continues to descend into the violence of criminal gangs.
First modification: 03/11/2024 – 09:45
2 min
The operation took place in the middle of the night at the request of the State Department. US military helicopters evacuated non-essential personnel from the US embassy in Port-au-Prince. According to a statement from the US army, this operation is part of the procedures planned to reinforce the security of the embassy.
“Increased gang violence in the vicinity of the embassy and airport has led the State Department to take steps to remove additional embassy personnel,” the embassy said on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.
According to the statement, the embassy remains open and operational. However, security has been tightened. This evacuation occurs after a few days ago Washington asked its citizens to leave Haiti. All this while Port-au-Prince is the scene of clashes between the police and armed gangs calling for the resignation of Ariel Henry. As for the Haitian prime minister, he remains stranded outside the country.
The German Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday the departure of its ambassador to Haiti, along with other representatives of the European Union. “Due to the very tense security situation in Haiti, the German ambassador and the permanent representative in Port-au-Prince left today for the Dominican Republic with representatives of the EU delegation,” a ministry spokesperson told the French news agency AFP. , adding that they would work from the Dominican Republic “until further notice.”
A man kicks burning tires during a demonstration as the government announces it will extend the state of emergency for a month following escalating violence by gangs seeking to overthrow Prime Minister Ariel Henry, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on March 7, 2024. © Ralph Tedy Erol / Reuters
Port-au-Prince, a city under siege
The capital of Haiti, the scene of clashes between police and armed gangs, is “a city under siege,” warned Philippe Branchat, head of Haiti at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), on Saturday. “The inhabitants of the capital live under lockdown, with nowhere to go,” he said.
The criminal gangs, which control most of the capital, as well as the roads that lead to the rest of the country, have been attacking police stations, prisons and courts for several days, in the absence of the Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, whose resignation they and part of them are asking for. of the population. On Friday night they occupied the Champs de Mars area, where the Presidential Palace, a police station and public offices are located, with the aim of attacking these buildings. They were repelled by the police. Apparently, some of the criminals died.
These repeated attacks on strategic locations worry Haitians, who mostly remain in their homes. On Sunday, at one of the markets in Port-au-Prince, there were no crowds, even though the market is very busy that day of the week. (with AFP)
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