Gangs have intensified their rampage in the downtown area of Haiti’s capital, setting fire to a school and looting pharmacies across the road from the country’s largest public hospital.

The attacks that began Monday and continued into early Tuesday mark nearly a month since gunmen began targeting key infrastructure across Port-au-Prince including police stations, the main international airport that remains closed and Haiti’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.

“The violence and instability in Haiti have consequences far beyond the risk of the violence itself,” Catherine Russell, UNICEF’s executive director, said in a statement Tuesday. “The situation is creating a child health and nutrition crisis that could cost the lives of countless of children.” The number of children in Haiti estimated to suffer from severe acute malnutrition has increased by 19% this year, according to UNICEF. In addition, some 1.64 million people are on the precipice of famine. “This malnutrition crisis is entirely human made,” Russell said.

Violence has forced the closure of roads and certain hospitals and prevented aid groups from delivering critical supplies at a time they are needed the most.

Only two of five hospitals in Haiti are operational across the country, according to UNICEF. In addition, the violence in Port-au-Prince has prevented the distribution of health and nutrition supplies for at least 58,000 children who are severely wasted, the agency said.

Scores of people have been killed in the ongoing attacks, and some 17,000 have been left homeless as Haiti’s National Police continues to be overwhelmed by heavily armed gangs that control 80 per cent of the capital.

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden approved up to USD 10 million in emergency assistance for Haitian security forces to “protect civilians and critical infrastructure against organised and targeted gang attacks”, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

Jean-Pierre said the funding comes from the US Department of Homeland Security budget and can be used for materials including weapons, ammunition, bullet-proof vests and helmets.

Meanwhile, members of a regional trade bloc known as Caricom have pushed to accelerate the formation of a transitional presidential council in hopes it could soon help quell the ongoing violence.

Haiti’s criminal gangs have long opposed the current Prime Minister Ariel Henry, blaming him for deepening poverty, but critics of gangs accuse them of trying to seize power for themselves or for unidentified Haitian politicians.

The transition council would be responsible for choosing a new prime minister and a council of ministers. Henry, who was locked out of Haiti when the attacks began, has said he would resign once the council is created.

However, multiple setbacks continue to delay formation of the council, which will be composed of nine members, seven of them with voting powers.

On Monday, Rene Jean Jumeau, who was nominated to represent Haiti’s religious sector in a non-voting position, resigned.

“The need for concrete action is too strong to remain helpless in the posture of spectator,” he said in a letter addressed to the council.

Meanwhile, Col. Himmler Rebu, a former colonel of Haiti’s army and president of the Grand Rally for the Revolution of Haiti, a party that obtained a seat on the council, told Radio RFM 104.9 on Tuesday that he believes the council will fail.

Rébu said officials should just move quickly to Plan B, which he said should involve granting powers to a judge from Haiti’s Supreme Court to select the country’s new leaders.

Supporters of that plan include the Protestant Federation of Haiti. It issued a statement on Monday backing the selection of a Supreme Court judge who would serve as interim president and help choose a prime minister.

Caribbean officials said no additional meetings with nominated council members are planned for the week since they have asked for more time to work through various unidentified internal issues.

Disagreements among delegates over who should head Haiti’s transitional council are stalling the body’s formation, a representative told AFP Monday, while over the weekend one member quit amid death threats.

The Caribbean nation’s security crisis has been intensified by a political one: elections have not been held since 2016, with Prime Minister Ariel Henry heading the country since President Jovenel Moise’s 2021 assassination.

As unrest has worsened under Henry’s rule — culminating when armed gangs united to launch attacks and demand his ouster late last month — the prime minister said he would resign once a transitional council was stood up.

But the body, supported by the United Nations and regional bloc CARICOM among others, is still struggling to come into shape two weeks after Henry’s March 11 announcement.

The transitional council — to be composed of seven voting members and two non-voting members — draws from Haitian political parties, the private sector and others, and is to name an interim prime minister and government to set the stage for fresh elections.

Its formation has dragged on amid arduous negotiations, though its composition changed again over the weekend.

Haiti’s ambassador to UNESCO Dominique Dupuy, chosen by one of the political coalitions, said she was stepping aside, citing threats against her and her family as well as misogynistic attacks.

She was the sole woman representative on the council, and was replaced by Smith Augustin, Haiti’s former ambassador to the Dominican Republic.

Holding up the official formation of the council is the disagreement over who should lead it, one of the delegates told AFP, speaking anonymously.

Meetings were held through the weekend and on Monday, with another one scheduled between delegates and CARICOM.

The meetings did make progress on several points, the delegate said, including on the criteria for becoming president of the council and for choosing the interim prime minister.

– Gang rule –

Ahead of the CARICOM meeting, a calm held across Port-au-Prince Monday morning, after a weekend of intense exchanges of gunfire in the Haitian capital, which has been under a state of emergency for almost a month.

While people made their way onto the street, however, the absence of government order could still be felt as schools and government offices remained closed.

Gangs are thought to control some 80 percent of the capital and swaths of the countryside.

The United Nations warned Monday that aid services in Port-au-Prince were still being disrupted by violence and insecurity.

“The crisis has crippled operations and hindered access to the few remaining facilities,” said Farhan Haq, a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Haq added that, according to the World Health Organization, fewer than half of the health facilities in Haiti’s capital are functioning at their normal capacity.

People walk past the body of a man who, along with others, was shot dead earlier in the morning, amid an escalation in gang violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti March 18, 2024.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Gangs attacked two upscale neighbourhoods in Haiti’s capital early Monday, March 18, 2024, in a rampage that left at least a dozen people dead in surrounding areas.

Gunmen looted homes in the communities of Laboule and Thomassin before sunrise, forcing residents to flee as some called radio stations pleading for police.

The neighbourhoods had remained largely peaceful despite a surge in violent gang attacks across Port-au-Prince that began on February 29.

An Associated Press photographer saw the bodies of at least 12 men strewn on the streets of Pétionville.

“Abuse! This is abuse!” cried out one Haitian man who did not want to be identified as he raised his arms and stood near one of the victims.

The most recent attacks raised concerns that gang violence would not cease despite Prime Minister Ariel Henry announcing nearly a week ago that he would resign once a transitional presidential council is created, a move that gangs had been demanding.

Also read: Haitians have little hope in interim government amid spiralling violence

Gangs have long opposed the Prime Minister Henry, saying he was never elected by the people as they blame him for deepening poverty, but critics of gangs accuse them of trying to seize power for themselves or for unidentified Haitian politicians.

Also on Monday, Haiti’s power company announced that four substations in the capital and elsewhere “were destroyed and rendered completely dysfunctional”. As a result, swaths of Port-au-Prince were without power.

In a bid to curb the relentless violence, Haiti’s government announced Sunday that it was extending a nighttime curfew through March 20.

The story so far: In a turning point for the political and security crisis going on in Haiti for three years, Prime Minister Ariel Henry on March 12 agreed to step down and pave the way for a transitional authority. This was following intense global pressure, driven by weeks of widespread gang violence that pushed the Caribbean nation into a state of emergency.

The Haitian PM announced his decision through a video message on social media from Puerto Rico, where he has been stranded for the past few days, as the country witnessed a dramatic escalation in violence. Calling for Mr. Henry to resign, powerful criminal gangs in recent weeks raided prisons, looted infrastructure, damaged communications, attempted to take over the international airport and cut off the capital of Port-au-Prince from the rest of the country, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.

Appealing for calm and peace, Mr. Henry said he would “immediately leave power” once a transitional presidential council is installed and an interim leader is chosen. “The government I lead cannot remain insensitive to this situation. As I have always said, no sacrifice is too great for our homeland Haiti,” he said.

The Haitian PM’s pledge followed a meeting of Caribbean leaders with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jamaica on March 11, which saw discussions on the way forward to facilitate a political transition.

How did Haiti become so politically unstable?

Once a rich French colony, the Caribbean nation is now one of the poorest nations in the Western hemisphere, paralysed by a struggling economy, political instability, natural disasters and epidemics. Over half of its 11 million population lives below the poverty line.

After freedom from France in the 19th century, the country remained under occupation by the United States for nearly two decades. The U.S. controlled Haiti’s security and finances, imposed racial segregation, forced labour, and press censorship, and deposed Presidents and legislatures that opposed the U.S. presence, the Centre for Foreign Relations (CFR) notes. Nearly 15,000 Haitians were reportedly killed in rebellions against the U.S. occupation before President Franklin D. Roosevelt withdrew his troops in 1934. There was, however, no change in the overall situation as a series of unstable governments followed the U.S. withdrawal.

Also Read | Haiti capital a ‘city under siege’ amid spasm of gang violence

The subsequent three-decade dictatorial rule of François Duvalier and his son Jean-Claude was marked by widespread corruption and human rights violations which left around 30,000 people dead or missing, as per theCFR. 

Following a popular uprising against the dictatorial rule, Haiti elected its first democratic leader, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, in 1990. He was ousted in successive coups but returned in 2001 — when he was again compelled to resign. He went into exile in 2004 after facing an armed rebellion.

In the meantime, the United Nations sent its peacekeeping force to the country. A devastating earthquake of 7.0 magnitude in 2010 and a cholera epidemic killed tens of thousands of people. Armed groups organised and flourished as natural disasters, political instability and foreign intervention brought the country to its knees.

In 2011, former President Michel Martelly returned to power amid allegations of interference in elections. He governed until 2015. Jovenel Moïse, supported by Martelly, assumed the presidency after the 2016 general election. Widespread violent protests erupted as losing candidates contested the results, citing irregularities and accusing Moïse of corruption. Moïse’s term was further marred by violent protests over fuel shortages, inflation, and corruption, including the embezzlement of billions of dollars, as revealed by a Haitian Senate investigation. The political and humanitarian crisis worsened in 2021 when President Moïse was assassinated at his residence in Port-au-Prince in July.

Haiti has since been caught in a downward spiral, with politicians increasingly dependent on gangs in the absence of a standing army. Presently, there are over 200 gangs in Haiti, of which 20 are based in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas. Two main alliances are at the centre of the conflict — the G9 Family and Allies, led by former special forces police officer Jimmy Chrizier (also known as Barbecue), and G-Pep, led by Gabriel Jean-Pierre. Gang wars between the two groups to gain control of key areas worsened the dire situation.

Jimmy Cherizier, leader of the G9 coalition, during a press tour of the La Saline shanty area of Port-au-Prince, Haiti November 3, 2021.

How Haiti spiralled out of control?

Gang violence reached unprecedented levels in recent years, but the situation worsened after Mr. Moïse’s killing as unelected Ariel Henry, a neurosurgeon, assumed the role of the Prime Minister. The power vacuum and an overwhelmed national police force, consisting of around 10,000 personnel, allowed influential armed gangs to strengthen their presence and influence, especially in Port-au-Prince, in the past three years.

A U.N. report highlighted the “severity of the situation”, saying that more than 8,400 people were killed, injured or kidnapped in gang-related violence last year — more than double the number from the previous year. The report also pointed out that over 80% of the surge in killings and injuries took place in the capital. A previous U.N. report pointed out that gangs employed sexual violence to threaten women and children. The report observed instances where women and girls were abducted for ransom and repeatedly raped by one or multiple armed men over several days or weeks, with some captors recording videos of the crimes to blackmail victims’ families.

The latest wave of violence began last month when anti-government protests rocked the country after Mr. Henry failed to honour his commitment to step down by February, citing security concerns. The crisis boiled over around the end of the month after Mr. Henry left for Kenya to push efforts for a U.N.-backed police force.

A demonstrator holds up an Haitian flag during protests demanding the resignation of PM Ariel Henry in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, March 1, 2024
| Photo Credit:
Odelyn Joseph

With the PM out of the country, powerful armed rival groups joined forces and launched coordinated attacks on government structures as they demanded a free and fair election and the PM’s resignation, threatening a “civil war that will lead to genocide.” The armed men attacked international airports, torched police stations, broke into a major port terminal and stormed the country’s two biggest prisons, freeing more than 4,000 inmates. Scores have been killed in the violence since the beginning of 2024, and more than 30,000 people have left their homes amid shortages of food, water and healthcare.

Also Read | Why has the UN called for a rapid action force? 

What prompted Henry to resign?

All attempts by Mr. Henry to return to the country failed as gangs continued their rampage and attempted to seize control of the main airport in the capital city, pushing the country to brink of collapse. Gangs took control of more than 80% of the capital. With security forces outnumbered and worsening violence, the government on March 3 declared a state of emergency and a night-time curfew. 

The attacks, however, continued.

A man drives past a burning barricade during a protest against Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s government and insecurity, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti March 1, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
Ralph Tedy Erol

Amid the worsening security situation, a humanitarian disaster and growing calls for elections, Mr. Henry bowed to international pressure and agreed to cede power to a transitional presidential council. “The government that I’m leading will resign immediately after the installation of [a transitional] council… I’m asking all Haitians to remain calm and do everything they can for peace and stability to come back as fast as possible,” the PM said in a video address.

Mr. Henry reportedly made the decision last week, but officially tendered his resignation on Monday evening. The resignation came after an extensive meeting between Caribbean leaders, stakeholders from Haiti and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on March 11 which culminated with a consensus on the composition and function of the transitional council, a U.S. official told Associated Press.

Notably, the U.S. pledged an additional $133 million for a multinational security force and humanitarian aid for Haiti during the meeting. The U.S. officials expect the appointment of the council members by the end of the week.

What happens next?

The new body will address the “immediate needs” of the Haitian people, restore stability and create the security conditions necessary for Haiti’s first elections since 2016, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken with Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness during a meeting on Haiti at the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Kingston, Jamaica, on Monday, March 11, 2024.

The main responsibilities of the body will include appointing an interim PM and cabinet, co-signing orders and establishing a provisional electoral council. As per reports, the council will have two observers and seven voting members. The voting members will be chosen from the private sector and political parties, while religious leaders and representatives of Haiti’s civil society will serve as observers. Individuals convicted, charged, or sanctioned by the United Nations won’t be granted membership. Additionally, those against the U.N.’s resolution to deploy a security force to Haiti or those who plan to run in the upcoming elections will also be ineligible.

While politicians have kickstarted deliberations on the new leadership, experts have expressed their concern over the absence of armed gang leaders in the discussions to restore stability. Jake Johnston, a research associate at the Centre for Economic and Policy Research, described the process that led to the presidential council as “deeply flawed,” saying that a foreign-backed government would face an uphill battle in trying to gain any legitimacy in the country.

It is unclear whether stakeholders will accept the transition plan suggested by external sources. Gang leader Chérizier has already declined any solution that is led or supported by the international community. However, it is not clear so far if he is seeking power or paving the way for former rebel leader Guy Philippe, who has expressed his desire to run for President.

“The Haitian people are the only ones who truly understand what they’re going through. They’re the ones who will take control of their destiny, and they’ll be the ones who choose their leaders,” Chrizier stated.