Haiti government declared a state of emergency and implemented a nighttime curfew on March 3rd, 2024, to restore order in the streets following a surge of violence over the weekend.
The explosion of violence on March 2nd, 2024, saw armed gang members storm the country’s two biggest prison centers in the country, namely in the Capital and at Croix des Bouquets.
The 72-hour state of emergency was immediately enforced, with the government pledging to apprehend the escaped killers, kidnappers, and other violent criminals.
“The Government of the Republic, referring to the decree of March 3, 2024, declares a state of emergency throughout the western department for a renewable period of seventy-two hours,” read part of the statement.
“In order to restore the order and to take appropriate measures to regain control of the situation, it decrees a curfew throughout this territory between six in the evening and five in the morning on March 4th 20224 to March 6th, 2024.”
The statement reported that the deterioration in security, especially in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, was characterized by increasing violent criminal acts committed by armed gangs.
“These violent acts result in significant population displacements, particularly due to kidnappings and assassinations of peaceful citizens, violence targeting women and children, as well as extensive ransacking and theft of public and private property,” said Finance Minister Patrick Boivert.
The police were ordered to use all legal means at their disposal to enforce the curfew and apprehend all offenders.
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Haiti to Restore Order
At least nine people had been killed since February 29, 2024— four of them police officers, as gangs stepped up coordinated attacks on state institutions in Port-au-Prince.
The attack is said to have caused deaths and injuries in the ranks of the Police and prison staff, the escape of dangerous prisoners and the vandalization of these places.
Nearly all of the roughly 4,000 inmates staged a mass escape during the breakout, rendering the typically overcrowded facility eerily deserted by Sunday, devoid of guards and littered with discarded sandals, clothing, and furniture strewn across the concrete grounds.
The targets included police stations, the country’s international airport, as well as the national soccer stadium.
In a separate locality, the lifeless bodies of two men, hands bound behind their backs, were found lying face down while residents navigated around roadblocks, marked by burning tires.
Meanwhile, within the prison, a group of 18 former Colombian soldiers, implicated in the alleged mercenary involvement in the July 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, opted to remain despite the chaos.
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Gang Men Attack on Haitians
Amid the tumultuous events on Saturday night, some of these Colombians circulated a distressing video, appealing for their safety.
“Please, please help us,” Associated Press quoted one of the men, Francisco Uribe, as saying in the message widely shared on social media. “They are massacring people indiscriminately inside the cells,” he added.
A second Port-au-Prince prison containing around 1,400 inmates was also overrun.
Also, internet service for many residents was down as Haiti’s top mobile network said a fiber optic cable connection was slashed during the rampage.
On 1st March 2024, President William Ruto and Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henri signed in an instrument which will enable the deployment of 1000 Kenyan police officers in Haiti.
