PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti: Haiti’s main port was forced to close on Thursday due to vandalism, after days of escalating gang violence that plunged the country into chaos and prevented the prime minister from returning from abroad.
The armed group launched coordinated attacks last week, targeting key infrastructure such as airports and police stations and breaking open prisons, as they demanded the resignation of the country’s leader, Ariel Henry.
Caribbean Port Services, the sole port operator in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, cited “malicious acts of sabotage and vandalism” in announcing its decision to suspend all services.
Haiti’s government on Thursday extended a state of emergency for the western part of the country, including the capital, for a month, but gangs still control large swaths of residential areas.
The UN’s humanitarian aid office warned that the health system is “close to collapse,” with many facilities closed or reduced services and shortages of medicine and staff.
The organization called for an end to the violence for aid to enter the country and reported a shortage of “blood, beds and staff to treat patients who have been wounded by bullets.”
The gang targeted police again late Wednesday, setting fire to their headquarters in Bas-Peu-de-Chose near the capital. The country’s police union Synapoha said officers fled before the attack and several police vehicles were destroyed.
The gang launched an attack last week while Prime Minister Henry was on a trip abroad, first attacking two prisons and causing more inmates to escape.
Synapoha said 10 police stations had been destroyed and at least 15,000 people were estimated to have been evacuated from the worst-hit areas in Port-au-Prince.
The UN Security Council will meet in New York on Wednesday to discuss the “critical” situation, while the US urged Prime Minister Henry to take steps to resolve the crisis.
In addition to the state of emergency, curfews have been imposed in the capital to promote peace, although gangs often outnumber armed security.
