Tensions rise in Haiti capital, another gang leader killed in shootout

Political groups appeared close to finalizing a transitional council to take over an absentee government after attacks broke out in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on Thursday, including a shootout that left another gang leader dead.

Delmas 95 gang leader Ernst Julme was shot dead during a police operation. One day after another gang leader was killed Police and sources confirm an apparent resurgence of the vigilante justice movement.

The death of Julm, a member of gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherichier’s Viv Ansanm alliance, marked a setback in the gang’s drive to seize more of the city. Julesme recently escaped from Haiti’s largest prison in a mass jailbreak.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed reports that political groups have elected all members of a transitional council that will assume presidential powers ahead of future elections, a U.N. spokesman said.

The committee, which aims to unite Haiti’s fractured political class, is tasked with appointing a successor to de facto Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Henry announced his resignation on March 11 after being unable to return to the country due to gang violence.

The committee will also exercise certain presidential powers until elections are held.

“The Secretary-General welcomes reports that Haitian stakeholders have nominated representatives to the Transitional Presidential Council,” Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haque told a news conference.

The transition plan was brokered in Jamaica by the intergovernmental Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Haitian government and opposition representatives. CARICOM has announced the list of political groups that will be represented on the Council.

The nine-member commission was initially expected to be finalized within days of Henry’s resignation, but some of Haiti’s political factions were unable to unite behind a single representative.

One party rejected the plan outright and then walked back its idea, while groups not involved in the plan criticized the return of politicians seen as corrupt from the previous government.

Cherizil threatened retaliation against politicians and their families if they participated in the proposed commission.

suburban conflict

Heavy gunfire was heard Thursday near the National Palace near the Champ de Mars in downtown Port-au-Prince, while new shootings sent people fleeing in the capital’s Pétionville suburb as the commission appeared to be nearing completion.

On Wednesday, Petion-Ville was hit in recent days with suspected gang members killed and set on fire, including a leader named Makandal, who appeared to be affiliated with the civilian vigilante movement known as Bwa Kale. Resurrection. .

Local media reported another killing in Bwa Kale on Thursday outside the capital, but Reuters could not confirm this.

The state has been largely absent during the violence, with police ill-equipped to deal with heavily armed criminal gangs seeking to expand territorial control over the capital. Plans for international security missions for 2022 requested by Henry remain on hold.

Haq said the rapid deployment of international forces is crucial to improving the political and security situation.

He said the United Nations would support the restoration of Haiti’s democratic system and called for the protection of civilians.

The United Nations and other international agencies and embassies have been using helicopters to evacuate staff and other foreigners due to unsafe conditions at Haiti’s main airport.

The State Department flew 90 U.S. citizens on Thursday from the northern Haitian city of Cap-Haitien to Miami and from Port-au-Prince to the Dominican Republic, in addition to 70 U.S. citizens who have left since Sunday. the spokesman said.