Haiti asks world for military help to curb chaos
A demonstrator holds a machete during a protest in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince.
Protests and gang violence have rocked Haiti, plunging the country into a worsening political, economic and security crisis.
Haiti has asked for foreign military support to curb its gang violence crisis which has paralysed the country.
The Haitian government authorised Prime Minister Ariel Henry to request armed help due to “the risk of a major humanitarian crisis”.
The US meanwhile urged its citizens in Haiti to leave due to the insecurity.
A group of powerful gangs have blocked the country’s main fuel terminal since September, crippling its basic supplies like water and food.
It is not clear to whom the request for intervention has been sent to, and in what form the help would be given.
The US is also considering a request for a humanitarian corridor to restore fuel distribution within Haiti, according to state department spokesperson Vedant Patel.
Mr Patel did not say where the troops to support this would come from.
Varreux fuel terminal has been controlled and blockaded by a coalition of powerful gangs since last month, which has ground the whole country to a halt. Some hospitals have shut, while businesses and transport services stopped working in protest of destitution.
Civil unrest escalated since Mr Henry announced an end to government fuel subsidies on 11 September, which sent petrol and diesel prices skyrocketing.
Since then, protests and looting have intensified, with the capital, Port-au-Prince, at the heart of it. Food aid warehouses have been targeted, with an estimated $5m (£4.6m) worth of food aid lost in repeated attacks, according to Haiti’s UN envoy.
Agencies