PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti: Fourteen bodies were found Monday in an affluent suburb of the Haitian capital, as international efforts to fill the political vacuum created by weeks of gang violence intensified and the prime minister faced an imminent resignation.
Local residents said they did not know the circumstances of the dead, but said that the areas of Laboule and Thomassin in the suburbs of Petion-Ville had been attacked by armed criminals since morning.
Witnesses said gang members attacked banks, gas stations and homes in the area, and gunfire was heard in Petion-Ville by afternoon.
The media reported, citing the judge’s relatives, that the judge narrowly escaped an attack on his home during Monday morning’s violence.
Haiti has been in a violent uprising for three weeks, with armed groups seeking to overthrow Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
Following pressure from neighbouring Caribbean countries, including CARICOM and the United States, last week Prime Minister Henry agreed to resign so that an interim government can be formed.
The situation remains dire, even as the US administration expressed hope on Monday that a transitional body to lead the country, which was formed at a crisis meeting a week ago, would be ready “as soon as today”.
Vedant Patel, State Department spokesman, told reporters in Washington that Haitian stakeholders are very close to finalizing membership and remain in active discussions with CARICOM leaders as it relates to the makeup of the Transitional Presidential Council.
He believed that the announcement of the council will help pave the way for free and fair elections and the deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission. He was referring to a UN-backed, Kenyan-led force that aims to bring stability to the country.
The US comments came as the United Nations announced the first helicopter flights had begun on an air route established between Haiti and the neighbouring Dominican Republic to send aid.
The UN’s children’s agency, UNICEF, issued a scathing assessment of the situation in the country on Sunday, saying it was like a scene from ‘Mad Max,’ and that people were suffering from hunger and malnutrition.
On the same day, the curfew in the western provinces, including Port-au-Prince, was extended until Wednesday. The state of emergency is scheduled to end on April 3.
Several countries, including the United States and members of the European Union, have evacuated their diplomats from Haiti because of the crisis.
Meanwhile, efforts continue to organize a security mission in Nairobi to help Haiti’s overwhelmed police force.
