Heavy gunfire and site visitors disruptions have been seen on Friday in some areas of Haiti’s capital, the native US embassy mentioned on Friday, a day after different violent occasions left 4 cops lifeless.
Violence has sparked throughout Primer Minister Ariel Henry’s go to to Kenya this week.
Earlier on Friday, the 2 international locations signed a deal to safe a plan to ship 1,000 cops to guide a UN-approved mission aimed toward tackling gang violence within the Caribbean nation.
Kenya introduced plans in July final yr to guide the mission to Haiti, the place gangs management many of the capital and practically 5,000 folks have been killed within the violence final yr.
However Kenya’s Excessive Court docket dominated the deployment, initially anticipated by January, unconstitutional within the absence of a “reciprocal association” with the host authorities.
That has successfully positioned your entire mission on maintain, at the same time as the US and Canada have pledged lots of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} to it, and a few international locations have dedicated armed personnel.
Wave of violence
A wave of panic swept via downtown Port-au-Prince on Thursday as violence and heavy gunfire broke out, in what a gang chief mentioned was an illustration towards authorities.
The armed clashes involving gangs, police, and vigilantes happened on the identical day Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry arrived in Kenya for talks on the deployment of a multinational safety mission within the nation backed by the United Nations.
By noon, most establishments and companies within the metropolis had closed and hundreds of individuals have been making an attempt to flee the downtown space on foot or public transport, witnesses mentioned.
Particular police models have been deployed all through town and nationwide police commerce union SYNAPOHA mentioned 4 officers had been killed, together with a chief inspector.
