By Joseph Guyler C. Delva
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, (HCNN) – A coalition of wanted armed gangs have claimed power in Haiti and have blocked travelling Haitian prime minister from coming back home, threatening to gun down any aircraft flying him back to the troubled Caribbean country, where a three-member presidential council would be installed as acting executive branch.
Jean-Charles Moise, an outspoken and leftist political leader, said the new government would soon be installed with a judge, Durin Duret Jr., as chairman assisted by former rebel leader and former police commissioner Guy Philippe, and Francoise Saint-Vil Villier, from the religious sector, close ally to Moise.
“PM Henry and all the other members of the government must resign or they will face the consequences,” Moise told journalists on Tuesday. “Many ministers and other government officials have gone into hiding. They are nowhere to be found,” explained Moise promising that members of government who would cooperate would have nothing to fear.
But, he said, “those who would remain faithful to Ariel Henry would have to face the population’s anger and would be sought after and chased.”
Moise has also warned foreign diplomats not to interfere with the countries’ internal matters, under the penalty of being kicked out of the country.
” Any good help from cooperating countries will be welcome, but everything should be done according to terms that take into account our own interests and dignity,” Moise explained.
Bursts of automatic weapons were fired, until late last night, from outside the international airport towards the landing runway, with gunmen simulating taking down an aircraft.
Footage obtained by HCNN shows a man standing on the roof of an SUV firing a machine gun towards the runway, perhaps to show what could have happened to Ariel Henry if he had tried to land that Tuesday night. And many of the gunmen came from nearby slums part of the larger gang coalition.
Members of the group appeared on Tuesday very determined to install a new regime to effectively lead the country unless a firm and resolute decision by Washington or other big international players – such as Canada, France or Europe – to compel actors to do otherwise.
Assailants seem ready to start the takeover process immediately. “They now control the country; there’s absolutely no challenge to their efforts to establish themselves as Haiti’s new masters.”
In parallel, nearly 5,000 detainees have fled Haiti’s prison and at least 41 corpses have been counted on the streets in different neighborhoods of the capital Port-au-Prince, several rights groups told HCNN.
“At the national penitentiary, approximately seven detainees were killed. three were found killed in the immediate surroundings of the prison, others were killed inside the facility,” said Pierre Rene Francois, Haitian police inspector general, in charge of the country’s jails.
The armed attack was part of the general upheaval against Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who’s been forced to stay away, at least for the past several days.
Source: Haitian-Caribbean News Network
