A soldier in front of Toussaint-Louverture international airport, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 4, 2024. RALPH TEDY EROL / REUTERS
France chartered military helicopters on Sunday March 24 to allow its nationals “the most vulnerable” to leave Haiti, the capital being plagued by gang violence. These flights, provided by the Ministry of the Armed Forces, began on Sunday, said the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while commercial air links with Port-au-Prince are interrupted.
After the announcement of these flights, a government source clarified that these evacuations were being carried out by military helicopter, without disclosing the final destination.
“The French embassy in Port-au-Prince remains open and continues its activity despite the degraded conditions”also informed the ministry in a statement sent to Agence France-Presse. “It remains fully mobilized in support of the French community on site”he added.
Some 1,100 French people, including a large number of dual nationals, live in Haiti, according to figures from the Quai d’Orsay. Immigrants “are invited to report to the French embassy in Port-au-Prince at + 509 29 99 90 90 if they have not already done so”declares the ministry, which did not yet have an estimate on Sunday of the number of people potentially affected.
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Haiti, which is experiencing a very serious political and security crisis, has been plagued by renewed violence since the beginning of March, when several gangs joined forces to attack strategic locations in Port-au-Prince, saying they wanted to overthrow the Prime Minister, Ariel Henry.
Mr Henry agreed to resign on March 11. Since then, negotiations have been underway to form transitional authorities. In the meantime, armed gangs are intensifying their attacks in the capital, of which they already control around 80%.
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