Thousands of Haitians demonstrated in Port-au-Prince on Monday to protest the government and its call for foreign aid to deal with endemic insecurity, a humanitarian crisis and a burgeoning cholera epidemic.
A day after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an international special force to be deployed immediately to Haiti to help the crisis-hit Caribbean country, the demonstration in the capital was marred by violence, with police using tear gas to disperse looters said an AFP correspondent.
“We certainly need help to develop our country, but we don’t need boots” on the ground, a protester told AFP, accusing the international community of “interfering in Haiti’s internal affairs” and that the government has “no legitimacy”. ask for military help.”
Several people were shot dead at the rallies and one person is said to have been killed. Demonstrators blamed the police for the death.
“It’s a crime committed by the police. This young girl posed no threat. She was killed for expressing her desire to live with dignity,” said another protester, who declined to be named.
Haiti has been the scene of violent demonstrations and looting for several weeks after the Prime Minister announced increases in fuel prices.
Demonstrators demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry and asking for international support also took to the streets in other cities across the country.
The Haitian government on Friday formalized its request for international assistance to stem growing insecurity.
Haiti, America’s poorest country, faces an acute political, economic, security and health crisis, now plagued by a cholera epidemic – circumstances that have paralyzed the country and triggered a breakdown in law and order.
The country’s largest fuel depot in Varreux has been under the control of armed gangs since mid-September.
And last week, health experts warned of a resurgence in cholera, three years after an epidemic that killed 10,000 people.
The Ministry of Health said on Monday that 32 confirmed cases of the disease and 16 deaths have already been registered, with a further 224 suspected cases in the period from October 1 to 9.
The ministry also said cases have been discovered at Port-au-Prince prison, the country’s largest, where prison conditions are dire.
