Haiti government on Sunday declared a 72-hour state of emergency after armed gangs stormed a prison and freed around 4,000 thousand inmates
The gangs stormed a major Port-au-Prince prison, killed about 12 people before freeing 4,000 inmates.
Gang leaders say they want to force the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is currently abroad. The groups aiming to oust him control around 80% of Port-au-Prince.
A government statement said two prisons – one in the capital and the other in nearby Croix des Bouquets – were stormed over the weekend.
It said the acts of “disobedience” were a threat to national security and said it was instituting an immediate night-time curfew in response.
Among those detained in Port-au-Prince were gang members charged in connection with the 2021 killing of President Jovenel Moïse.
The latest upsurge in violence began on Thursday, when the prime minister travelled to Nairobi to discuss sending a Kenya-led multinational security force to Haiti.
Haiti’s police union had asked the military to help reinforce the capital’s main prison, but the compound was stormed late on Saturday.
One volunteer prison worker told the Reuters news agency that 99 prisoners – including former Colombian soldiers jailed over President Moïse’s murder – had chosen to remain in their cells for fear of being killed in crossfire.
