Another week in Haiti, another ugly chapter in the never-ending chaos and violence in the Caribbean nation.
As the unelected Transition Council tries to get implemented but doesn’t manage to, street battles raged in around downtown Port-au-Prince yesterday (1).
The heaviest confrontations seemed to take place near the national palace.
Reuters reported:
“The latest violence to rock the Caribbean island nation comes as the outgoing prime minister signaled that a broad transitional council is nearly finalized and seen as key to ending the current social and political crisis and paving the way for new elections.
Reuters saw civilians rush to escape gunfire in the capital, where rival gangs control wide swathes of territory, three weeks after Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced plans to step down pending the creation of the council and the appointment of an interim leader.”
To give an idea of how precarious the situation is, outgoing PM Henry said that the names of the nine members of the council have finally been forwarded to him from regional body CARICOM.
But Henry did not release the names, as it would amount to a death sentence by the gangs, and the government can’t guarantee their safety.
Besides that,, legal questions have arisen that hinder the implementation of the council.
“Earlier on Monday, gunmen seized an armored vehicle from palace guards in the city center. Meanwhile, four people were found dead in the capital’s relatively upscale Petion-Ville suburb, which has been threatened by gangs.
At least one other person was shot dead amid fighting in the capital’s Delmas district, while local media also reported a large industrial park had been set on fire three days before.”
Watch: rebel gang member shows armored car taken from palace guards.
— Paul Serran (@paul_serran) April 2, 2024
“Last weekend, troops from the Bahamas and Belize arrived in Jamaica to participate in a training exercise known as Trogon Shield, along with soldiers from Canada, in preparation for deployment to Haiti.
In 2022, Henry called for an international security force to boost Haiti’s out-gunned police, but despite the United Nations ratifying the force six months ago progress has been sluggish.”
Over 1,500 people were killed so far in 2024, with around 60 of those having been lynched by vigilante groups that are operating where police presence is lacking.
Associated Press reported:
“Local media reported that at least one policeman was shot after he and other officers were forced to flee an armored car that was later set on fire.
Scores of people were trapped by the gunfire in downtown Port-au-Prince while dozens of others managed to flee. One man who declined to provide his name out of fear for his life told The Associated Press that he was stuck for five hours until police rescued him.
‘It’s the armored car that covered us (so we could) leave the area’, he said.
[…] On Monday night, Haiti’s government issued a statement raising concerns over its creation, saying that the current council of ministers ‘stumbled over proven constitutional and legal questions. The Constitution and Haitian laws nowhere provide for this institution’.”
Read more:
The post HAITI HELL: Heavy Gun Battles Rage Near National Palace – Unelected Transition Council Stumbles on Legal Impediments – Canada Training Caribbean Troops for Deployment appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.