Haiti: US, UN to evacuate staff amid fragile peace

Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, remained relatively calm on Wednesday following the announcement of the prime minister's resignation, prompting the US and UN to evacuate staff while the fragile peace lasts.

The Caribbean country has been in the grip of escalating violence as armed gangs rebelled against Prime Minister Ariel Henry, plunging the country into chaos.

Henry agreed to step down after the Caribbean regional trade bloc known as Caricom organized emergency talks in Jamaica on Monday to address the situation in Haiti.

He had held the position, unelected, since the 2021 assassination of the previous president, Jovenel Moise.

According to Caricom, a seven-member presidential council will be formed for the transition to elections in Haiti. The council will appoint a new interim prime minister in the meantime before the vote.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, also present at the talks in Jamaica, said he expects the transition council to come together in the next few days.

Non-essential UN, US staff to leave, life-saving workers to stay

Despite the unrest, life in Port-au-Prince has shown signs of limping back to normalcy, but residents still did not have access to large parts of the city under gang control.

Meanwhile, the UN announced that non-essential staff are leaving Haiti in light of the unfolding volatile situation.

A UN spokesperson said on Wednesday that staff carrying out life-saving work would remain in the country.

This comes even as the US Southern Command said it was deploying a team of anti-terrorism Marines to strengthen the security at the embassy and assist in the evacuation of "non-emergency" personnel from Haiti.

Creation of transition council faces resistance

At the same time, efforts to establish a new leadership structure in Haiti are facing resistance.

Ex-senator Jean Charles Moise and former rebel leader Guy Philippe publicly opposed the plan in a press conference on Wednesday, advocating for their own three-member presidential council instead.

"The decision of Caricom is not our decision," Philippe said. "Haitians will decide who will govern Haiti."

In 2004, Philippe led a revolt against then President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and was recently released from a US prison.

Jimmy "Barbeque" Cherizier, the most influential gang leader in Haiti, who had previously threatened to depose Prime Minister Henry, also rejected the transitional council, according to the Miami Herald.

Other politicians also declined to join the proposed transitional council.

How did the situation deteriorate?

Poverty and political instability have long plagued Haiti, but the assassination of President Moise in 2021 plunged the country into further lawlessness.

The country's overwhelmed police are barely able to contain the violence.

In Port-au-Prince on March 4, gunmen torched police stations and broke into Haiti's two largest prisons, freeing over 4,000 inmates. By March 10, they had attacked over 30 government buildings, 600 homes and businesses, and nearly 500 vehicles.

According to the UN, there are 360,000 internally displaced people in Haiti, while thousands have been killed. There are also fears of food shortages amid reports of rape, torture, arson and kidnappings.

Experts warned if gangs are not reined in, more people would flee the country.

William O'Neill, the UN's independent expert on human rights in Haiti described Port-au-Prince now as "an open-air prison."

"There is no way to get out: land, air or sea. The airport is still not functioning," he said.

ss/jsi (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)