Haiti transitional government takes power as gangs hold capital “hostage”
Port-au-Prince. Haiti Reuters Haiti’s transition council took power in a ceremony on Thursday, formalising the resignation of former Prime Minster Ariel Henry as the Caribbean country seeks to establish security after years of gang violence wreaking chaos and misery. Henry’s Finance Minister, Michel Patrick Boisvert, will be interim Prime Minister until the transition council appoints […]
Haiti transition council to be installed on Thursday, says PM office
Port-au-Prince, Haiti Reuters A ceremony to install a stalled presidential transition council in Haiti will take place Thursday morning on the outskirts of the capital Port-au-Prince, the office of outgoing Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced in a statement on Wednesday. The statement noted that the ceremony will be hosted at the prime minister’s official office, […]
Haiti police bolster security around palace ahead of transition
Port-au-Prince Reuters Haitian police deployed tear gas to move people back from a security perimeter around the National Palace while soldiers gripping rifles patrolled the international airport’s diplomatic entrance on Tuesday, ahead of a planned change of government. The palace has come under repeated fire from gangs that have paralysed the capital Port-au-Prince. A nine-member […]
Haiti’s capital under gang attacks ahead of government transition
Port-au-Prince Reuters Armed gangs launched fresh attacks on parts of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince ahead of the installation of a transitional council set to usher in a new government, local media said on Sunday, reporting arson and heavy gunfire in the city centre. The Lower Delmas area is turning into “a battlefield between police and armed […]
Haitians seek to flee gang-fueled anarchy as neighbours boost militaries
Port-au-Prince, Haiti/Kingston, Jamaica Reuters With no sign yet of a long-promised transitional council to usher in the deployment of international troops and restore order, Haitians who can are trying to flee the country. Violent gangs have taken over much of the capital, killed thousands, and forced millions into acute hunger. People take cover from gunfire […]
Diplomats push for progress on Haiti transition as death toll mounts
Reuters Diplomats at a regional Americas body on Wednesday urged Haitian politicians to move forward with a delayed plan to replace Prime Minister Ariel Henry with a transitional council, a move which could trigger the long-awaited deployment of an international security force. The transitional council – agreed with the mediation of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) […]
Over 50,000 fled Haiti capital in three weeks, with politicians in deadlock
Port-au-Prince, Haiti Reuters More than 53,000 people fled Haiti’s capital in just three weeks of March as conflict between powerful armed gangs wreaked havoc for civilians, with the state largely absent and a path out of the chaos yet to be established by politicians. Tens of thousands of people left Port-au-Prince’s metropolitan area between 8th […]
Ransom demands: In crime-stricken Haiti, Catholic priests and nuns are targeted as kidnap victims
Kidnappings by criminal gangs have continued to terrorise the country’s residents, not least Catholic priests and other missionaries. In 2024 alone, at least 14 priests and religious brothers and sisters were abducted. EDUARDO CAMPOS LIMA reports in an article first published by Religion News Service…
Panic in Haiti’s capital as wild shooting fills streets
Port-au-Prince, Haiti Reuters Panic set in around downtown Port-au-Prince on Monday as wild shooting filled the streets of Haiti’s capital, with heavy gunfire approaching the national palace. Reuters saw civilians rush to escape gunfire in the capital, where rival gangs are vying for control of turf while the state remains largely absent, three weeks after […]
Hundreds of rights groups urge US to stop deporting Haitians fleeing gang war
Reuters Nearly 500 immigration and human rights organisations signed a letter urging the US Government to halt deportations of Haitians and expand migration protections as a devastating gang conflict escalates on the Caribbean island nation. The Haitian Bridge Alliance, a San Diego-based non-profit, published a letter on Wednesday together with 481 migration, human rights, religious […]