- U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urges international community to consider deploying forces to Haiti.
- His comments come after the Haitian government asked for international military assistance.
- The country is dealing with rampant gang violence, a deadly cholera outbreak and anti-government protests.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the international community to consider sending troops to Haiti to address the country’s growing humanitarian and security crises.
Guterres’ remarks come just days after the Haitian government requested international military assistance in the face of rampant gang violence, a deadly cholera outbreak, and anti-government protests that have paralysed the country since late August. Haitians have mostly shut down the country in protest of chronic gang violence, poverty, food insecurity, inflation, and fuel shortages.
“I am appealing to the international community to assist and support us in any way necessary to prevent the situation from deteriorating.” As cholera makes a comeback, we need to be able to distribute water and medicine. We need to reopen businesses and clear the roads so that doctors and nurses can work. “We are asking for their assistance in order to distribute fuel and reopen schools,” Prime Minister Ariel Henry said on Wednesday.
On Sunday, Guterres urged the international community to “consider as a matter of urgency the Haitian Government’s request for the immediate deployment of an international specialised armed force.”
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It is unclear what that force would look like.
This summer, brutal gang battles erupted in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, displacing thousands of families and trapping others in their homes, afraid to leave even in search of food and water.
Hundreds of people were killed, injured, or went missing. Criminals continue to control or influence parts of the country’s most populous city, and kidnappings for ransom pose a threat to residents’ daily lives. Demonstrators in several cities have called for Henry’s resignation in recent weeks, citing high fuel prices, soaring inflation, and unchecked crime.
Their rage was heightened last month when Henry announced that he would cut fuel subsidies in order to fund the government, doubling gas prices. By blocking the country’s main port in Port-au-Prince, powerful gangs in Haiti have exacerbated the fuel crisis.
“We hope the international community responds quickly to our request for specialised armed forces before things worsen,” Jean Junior Joseph, an adviser to Henry, told.
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