Haiti’s government declared a state of emergency and night curfew on Monday after the violence last Thursday. Prime Minister Ariel Henry then traveled to Kenya to discuss the multinational security force planned to be sent to Haiti.
At the same time, gang leader Jimmy Chérizier announced a coordinated attack between the various groups to depose the Prime Minister.
Since then, prisons have been stormed, armed gangs have tried to take control of the country’s main airport and more than 15,000 people have been forced to flee their homes.
UN chief: People are being burned alive
Ulrika Richardson describes how the gangs fire weapons without regard for any civilians and that they burn people alive.
– These are extremely cruel methods, quite simply, she says.
She also believes that parts of the capital Port-au-Prince are paralyzed and that there are therefore no opportunities to move the dead and injured from the streets.
The gang controls the food supply
When Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in 2021, gangs gained more power in the country and violence escalated. Today, the gangs control almost 80 percent of Port-au-Prince.
5.5 million people in the country are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, of which three million are children. According to Richardson, the increase in acute malnutrition in children has increased by 30 percent.
– This is also explained by the fact that the gangs have taken over such a large part of the circulation of food and agricultural products. So we see a very poor supply of food.
Hear more in the clip above.