Haiti: state of emergency maintained, curfew extended

The Haitian government announced Thursday the extension of the curfew in order to put an end to the violent gang attacks which have paralyzed the capital Port-au-Prince.

Authorities said all public demonstrations were also banned in the metropolitan area and beyond.

Criminal gangs, who control most of the capital as well as the roads leading to the rest of the territory, have been attacking strategic sites in the country for several days in the absence of the contested Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

A first state of emergency, accompanied by a curfew, had already been declared on Sunday after the attack on prisons by armed gangs which resulted in the escape of thousands of inmates.

Blocked out of his country for the moment, Ariel Henry appears to find himself in an impasse as a growing number of officials call for his resignation or encourage him to do so.

The country, currently without a president or parliament, has not had an election since 2016, and Ariel Henry, appointed by President Jovenel Moïse just before his assassination in 2021, should have left office at the beginning of February.