UNITED NATIONS, CMC – The head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), Maria Isabel Salvador, has warned that criminal gangs are stepping up attacks in areas they do not yet control and that the situation in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country “has unfortunately deteriorated”.
Addressing the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday evening pointed to escalating attacks in the past week around the capital, its suburbs, the agricultural region and the city, where residents have been under prolonged siege and are pleading for more security reinforcements.
She told the Council that the violence is “spreading terror and fear, overwhelming the national security apparatus” and that the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission remains “seriously understaffed, which could affect its deployment and prevent it from carrying out its duties”.
Earlier, Haiti’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Antonio Rodrigue, said that the past three weeks have seen a targeted and sustained joint security operation against gangs by security officers with the MSS and Haitian National Police, particularly in the centre of Port-au-Prince, but tangible results have been “slow”.
Kenya, which has provided most of the officers for the MSS so far, announced that 600 more will be deployed to Haiti by mid-November.
Funding has also lagged, and an alliance of well-equipped armed gangs known as Viv Ansanm has expanded across the capital and surrounding regions.
The UN Security Council was told that the recent massacre in Pont-Sondé exemplifies the ongoing violence and Salvador also warned of rising tensions between the country’s two executive branches, led respectively by Prime Minister Garry Conille and Leslie Voltaire, of the Transitional Presidential Council (TPC),which are further undermining public confidence in the government.
More than 4,200 people have fled their homes since Thursday in new attacks around the capital, according to UN estimates, with most seeking refuge in makeshift camps set up in schools, churches and health centres.
The national police have said they are being deployed to some areas where fighting has intensified this week, while Prime Minister Conille said on Monday he had immediately recalled hundreds of police and soldiers from VIP protection letters so they could be sent to combat zones.
Meanwhile, the TPC is condemning threats made by criminals against journalists in Haiti.
“Freedom of the press is sacred and non-negotiable. The CPT expresses its unwavering support for all journalists in Haiti who courageously pursue their mission at the risk of their lives,” it said in a statement after two gang leaders, Jimmy Chérizier aka “Barbecue” and Vitelhomme Innocent issued threats to journalists.
The Ministry of Justice on Tuesday also warned of unspecified threats to Prime Minister Conille and other members of the TPC.
While it did not provide details of the threat, the ministry said it had “consistent and persistent” information that the top officials might be targeted by unnamed actors intent on sowing “trouble and panic in the country”.
The ministry is urging police and judicial authorities to take “appropriate measures” to guarantee the officials’ safety.
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