P-au-P, August 9, 2024 [AlterPresse] — Faced with the continued action of armed gangs, extending, with complete impunity, their areas of criminal influence, the Prime Minister of the transition Garry Conille, also president of the High Council of the National Police (Cspn), asks international partners to provide more support in resources and weapons to the police institution, according to what is reported by the Multinational Security Support Mission (MMAS) in Haiti, in a note consulted by AlterPresse.
He also called for rapid intervention and highlighted the need to ensure security, with a view to organising the next elections in 2025.
Conille made this call in a speech delivered at a joint forum organized on Thursday, August 8, 2024, by international partners supporting security in Haiti.
The interim director general of the Haitian National Police (PNH), Rameau Normil, also a member of the CSPN, also called for more equipment from Haiti’s international partners to the police institution.
With “great concern,” Normil warned of increased pressure on all fronts, saying residents expect to see immediate results, especially after the arrival of the Kenyan contingent of the MMAS.
Armed gangs occupy more than 80% of the territory in the metropolitan area of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
In recent weeks, they have stepped up their offensives in other areas, despite the presence, since June 25, 2024, of Kenyan troops in Haiti who have come to help the PNH fight crime.
In an attack by armed gangs, carried out on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 6, 2024, About ten people were murdered and another injured by gunfire in the communes of Cabaret and Arcahaie (more than 40 km on national road No. 1, north of Port-au-Prince)informed the AlterPresse/AlterRadio platform the interim executive agent of Arcahaïe, Jean Edner Gilles.
In a new attack on Sunday, August 4, 2024, against the Ganthier customs office, not far from the Malpasse/Malpasso border, members of the 400 Mawozo gang set fire to an armored vehicle, used by the national police to patrol the commune of Ganthier (approximately 30 km northeast of Port-au-Prince), on national road No. 8.
Since Thursday, July 25, 2024, members of the 400 mawozo gang have used a tractor to destroy the police station in Ganthier.
With the new assaults, on Sunday July 21, 2024, armed gangs 400 marozo to Ganthier, More than 3,800 people were forced to move to seek refuge in Fonds-Parisien in 3 days.counted the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Criminal acts by bandits have also intensified, particularly in the communes of Croix-des-Bouquets (northeast), Gressier and Carrefour (south).
Mmas calls for rapid and timely delivery of more equipment
During his intervention at the security forum, the commander of Kenyan troops in Haiti, Godfrey Otunge, called for a rapid and timely delivery of more equipment, to support the mission and enable the PNH to improve its operations and effectiveness.
The MMAS says it is committed to using all available resources to help the PNH thwart the gangs, although the mission is in the pre-deployment stage.
She announced the continuation of constant patrols, jointly with the PNH.
The MMAS promises to ensure that all critical government infrastructure, which the gangs had taken, is recovered.
Canadian Ambassador to Haiti André François Giroux, who chaired the meeting of the International Security Assistance Coordination Group (ISAG) on Thursday, August 8, 2024, stressed how essential the MMAS was to Haiti.
He spoke of the need for all actors to ensure that they fully support the mission, the Canadian embassy said on its X account.
The meeting took place in the presence of more than twenty countries and international organizations, gathered on the occasion to share their priorities and their vision regarding security in Haiti.
Present were the Ambassador of the United States of America to Haiti, Dennis Bruce Hankins, and the Head of the United Nations Integrated Office (BINUH), the Ecuadorian Maria Isabel Salvador, and key representatives of the Bahamas, the European Union (EU), Spain, France, Argentina, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Chile, Switzerland, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Organization of American States (OAS). [emb rc apr 09/08/2024 10:30]
Photo: Page X of the Canadian Embassy
