2024-04-13 01:18:45
A transitional presidential council was officially formed in Haiti on Friday, a month following the announcement of the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. The country witnessed violence, while regarding 100,000 people were displaced, according to estimates by the International Organization for Migration.
The Council will have to restore order and stability in a country facing gang violence, and it was officially ratified by a decree signed by Henry and published in the official gazette, Le Monitor.
“The Council’s mandate expires on February 7, 2026 at the latest,” according to the text.
Its members must “hurry” to appoint a new prime minister and form an “inclusive” government.
The text explained that the Council has not yet officially taken over the reins of government of the country and that Henry “will submit the resignation of his government following appointing a new prime minister.”
The Council consists of nine members representing political parties, the private sector and civil society, seven with the right to vote and two observers, according to its formation agreement, which was seen by Agence France-Presse.
The Transitional Council must establish order and stability in the country. Archive
Haiti has been suffering from political instability and crime for years, and no elections have been held there since 2016.
The situation has worsened since late February, when armed gangs attacked police stations, prisons and government headquarters, forcing the port and airport of the capital, Port-au-Prince, to close amid a wave of anti-Henry violence.
The International Organization for Migration announced on Friday that regarding 100,000 people fled the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince within one month to escape the escalation of gang attacks.
After collecting data at the most frequently used bus stations between March 8 and April 9, the organization noted that 94,821 people had left the capital, particularly to go to the southern provinces, to which another 116,000 displaced people had fled in recent months.
The latest figures issued by the organization confirmed that 53,000 people fled during the three weeks between March 8 and 27.
Tens of thousands are leaving the capital due to violence. Archive
The organization indicated that these numbers do not necessarily reflect the total number of people fleeing, as some displaced people do not pass through data collection points or pass through them, while it is not possible to record their movement.
The International Organization for Migration stressed that the provinces to which those fleeing are heading “do not have sufficient infrastructure, and the host communities do not have sufficient resources to be able to deal with the massive influxes from the capital.”
Data indicate that 63 percent of those fleeing the capital, numbering regarding 100,000 people, are originally internally displaced, and some of them sought refuge first with relatives within the capital region of Port-au-Prince, and some of them were displaced several times.
The International Organization for Migration noted a new phenomenon represented by the decision of those who had not previously been displaced to leave the capital.
The “BBQ” man.. How did an influential gang leader become in power in Haiti?
After days of Haitian gangs taking control of streets and strategic headquarters, while Prime Minister Ariel Henry was on a trip outside the country, it seemed that one man now had power: the powerful gang leader, Jimmy Chérizier, nicknamed “BBQ.”
The UN organization said, “This also describes the deterioration of the situation in the capital, given that the decision to leave the capital can be relatively quicker for an already displaced person compared to someone who is still in his residence and decides to leave to seek asylum in the governorates.”
The vast majority, regarding 78 percent, of the people interviewed by the International Organization for Migration in the course of collecting data indicated that they were leaving the capital because of the violence, and 66 percent confirmed that they would remain outside it “as long as necessary.”
For decades, Haiti has witnessed poverty, natural disasters, political instability, and violence carried out by gangs.
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