PORTAUPRINCE: Gunfire rang out in Haiti’s capital on Thursday and “bandits” set fire to a police official’s house, ending three days of relative calm as politicians continued talks to create an interim governing body.
The country has been wracked by a gang insurgency for two weeks, with well-armed groups saying they want to topple Prime Minister Ariel Henry, an unpopular and unelected leader.
Amid the conflict, which has come with warnings of famine and civil war, bodies have strewn the streets in recent days as the social order has dissolved.
Overnight into Thursday and into the early hours of the morning, a lull in fighting was broken when automatic weapons fire erupted in Port-au-Prince, which is 80 percent controlled by gangs.
“I heard gunshots all night. I didn’t sleep a wink,” said resident Viva Mitchell on the outskirts of the capital, who declined to give her name for fear of reprisals.
Haitian authorities, overwhelmed by the violence, extended the curfew until Sunday.
Shots were also fired Thursday near the closed Toussaint Louverture airport, which was undergoing repairs after it and other key infrastructure were attacked by gangs earlier this month.
US cruise operator Royal Caribbean said it was suspending stops at Labadee on Haiti’s northern coast and far from Port-au-Prince “out of an abundance of caution”.
The transitional body is to have seven voting members from political parties and the private sector and is expected to quickly appoint an interim prime minister.
But on Wednesday, powerful gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier vowed to continue fighting, even as Henry agreed to step down as the armed groups demanded.
The six organizations selected to form the interim governing body have chosen their representative and informed CARICOM, the regional Caribbean body that attended the crisis meeting, several sources told AFP.
But a small left-wing party called Pitit Desalin has been reluctant to participate, and talks are underway to find another party or group to replace it, these sources said.
Haiti has not held elections since 2016 and currently has no president or parliament.
He announced late Monday that he would resign while an interim council was put in place.
But a special adviser to Henry told CNN on Thursday that under the Haitian constitution, only Henry and his cabinet can appoint the transitional council.
“We’re not just going to deliver land to a group of people without following a process,” said adviser Jean Junior Joseph. “We have to stay within the law and set a good example.”
His 2017–2021 presidency, like his current leadership of the White House, was characterized by hard-line immigration policies and xenophobic rhetoric.
Gunfire booms in Haiti as politicians seek to form interim gov’t
