Haiti

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Haiti swears in a new prime minister as gangs open fire at a flight landing in the main airport

Haiti’s international airport shut down temporarily on Monday after gangs opened fire at a Spirit Airlines flight landing in Port-Au-Prince, the U.S. State Department and the airline said. The latest violence came as a new prime minister was sworn in. Read More.

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US prohibits airlines from flying to Haiti and UN suspends flights after planes were shot by gangs

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration prohibited U.S. airlines from flying to Haiti for 30 days after gangs shot three planes and the United Nations also Tuesday temporarily suspended flights to Port-au-Prince, limiting humanitarian aid coming into the country.

https://apnews.com/article/haiti-violence-gangs-airport-90dc8d26bc58eb9b214385ac10f315a2?

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Haiti struggles to find solutions as gang violence surges Hopes were high earlier this year when Kenyan police arrived in Haiti as part of a U.N.-backed mission to tackle gang violence. Since then, coordinated gang attacks on prisons, police stations and the main international airport have crippled the country’s capital and forced the prime minister to resign, plunging Haiti into a crisis that experts say is the worst they’ve seen. Read more.

Key points: A main concern in the ongoing crisis is the temporary closure of the main international airport in Port-au-Prince. It means critical aid is not reaching those who need it the most in a country where nearly 6,000 people are starving and nearly half of the more than 11 million inhabitants are experiencing crisis levels of hunger or worse. Gang violence also has left more than 700,000 people homeless in recent years. Gangs now control 85% of the capital.    In another recent blow, Doctors Without Borders announced it was suspending critical care in Port-au-Prince as it accused police of targeting its staff and patients, including threats of rape and death. It’s the first time the aid group has stopped working with new patients since it began operating in Haiti more than 30 years ago.   The U.S. and other countries pushed for a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti at a U.N. Security Council meeting this week. Only about 400 officers from Kenya have arrived, along with a handful of police and soldiers from other countries — way short of the 2,500 personnel slated for the mission. But Russia and China oppose the mission, leaving many to wonder what other options are left for Haiti.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ The number of children recruited by gangs in Haiti soars by 70%, UNICEF says   Prominent Haitian politician condemns French president for calling leaders ‘total morons’   Russia and China oppose changing the Kenya-led force in Haiti to a UN peacekeeping mission

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Under assault by gangs in Haiti, a Kenyan-led mission fights back

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — An armored vehicle carrying Kenyan police rumbles through Haiti’s capital with a shattered window that a high-caliber bullet failed to penetrate, a permanent sign of violence the officers face almost daily in Port-au-Prince.

https://apnews.com/article/haiti-gang-violence-kenya-police-united-nations-767d0ca23708d17631b41626a7168429?

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Killing Spree Claims the Lives of Two Seventh-day Adventists in Haiti

Church members are struggling to survive amid ongoing gang violence.

https://adventistreview.org/news/killing-spree-claims-the-lives-of-two-seventh-day-adventists-in-haiti/

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A Haiti gang attack on the reopening of a main hospital kills 2 reporters and a police officer

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Two reporters were killed and several were wounded Tuesday in a gang attack in Haiti on the reopening of Port-au-Prince’s biggest public hospital, the country’s online media association said. A police officer was also killed in the attack.

https://apnews.com/article/haiti-gang-violence-capital-journalists-a7b6c5606f112e8098b390f3b83763ca?

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Gangs in Haiti burn beloved Gothic gingerbread hotel that rose to international fame

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s once-illustrious Grand Hôtel Oloffson, a beloved Gothic gingerbread home that inspired books, hosted parties until dawn and attracted visitors from Mick Jagger to Haitian presidents, was burned down by gangs this past weekend.

https://apnews.com/article/haiti-grand-hotel-oloffson-burned-down-gangs-bb08a45c646bf5bada9759721de1b342?

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8 are missing, including an Irish missionary, after gunmen storm a Haiti orphanage

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Eight people, including an Irish missionary and a 3-year-old child, remained missing on Monday after gunmen stormed an orphanage in Haiti, the latest attack in an area controlled by a powerful collection of armed gangs.

https://apnews.com/article/haiti-kidnapping-orphanage-irish-children-gangs-580233488b50a074122b2b0e4dd2d5a6?

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Haiti prepares for new leadership as gunfire erupts and gangs threaten to overthrow government

A wealthy businessman was slated to become president of Haiti’s transitional presidential council on Thursday, marking the first time that the private sector is in control of the country’s two executive branches. The change in command further threatened to destabilize the country as a powerful gang federation that has long denounced Haiti’s oligarchs pledged to overthrow the government hours before the swearing-in. Read More.

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Haiti declares a 3-month state of emergency as gangs ravage country’s central region

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Haiti’s government announced Saturday that it is implementing a three-month state of emergency in the country’s central region as gang violence surges.

https://apnews.com/article/haiti-state-of-emergency-gangs-west-artibonite-5afeb9b859928436eaf4c362fbb91489?

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Blackwater founder to deploy nearly 200 personnel to Haiti as gang violence soars

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The security firm of former U.S. Navy Seal Erik Prince will soon deploy nearly 200 personnel from various countries to Haiti as part of a one-year deal to quell gang violence there, a person with knowledge of the plans said Thursday.

https://apnews.com/article/haiti-erik-prince-contractors-gang-violence-police-8b354f3e085b927b30b6877b5b98e7a5?

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Drone attack in gang-controlled slum in Haiti kills at least 8 children, injures 6 others

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Explosive drones targeting a suspected gang leader killed at least eight children inside a slum in Haiti’s capital and seriously wounded six others, relatives and activists told The Associated Press on Monday, as they blamed police for the attack.

https://apnews.com/article/haiti-drone-attack-cite-soleil-children-killed-339677efb2e5926b182f1934fafd6e5e?

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Suspected Haitian gang members exchange fire with Marines protecting US Embassy in Port-au-Prince

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A group of suspected Haitian gang members fired this week on American forces protecting the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, a spokesman said Saturday, in an incident that highlighted the tense security situation in the Caribbean nation.

https://apnews.com/article/haiti-embassy-attack-gangs-7c3b602a5ea0b1211a8e5c29c9096e7d?

ps:So will we send troops??

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Haiti’s troubles fade briefly as it revels in World Cup qualification

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti held its breath for nearly two hours as its troubles seemed to fade with the promise of its first World Cup qualification since 1974.

https://apnews.com/article/haiti-world-cup-qualifier-nicaragua-1fa07a3775a76465b47938f479efc40b?

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Gang violence forces medical nonprofit Doctors Without Borders to suspend services at Haiti clinic

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders said Thursday that it was suspending services at a clinic in a violent neighborhood of Haiti’s capital given ongoing clashes between police and armed groups.

https://apnews.com/article/haiti-gangs-doctors-without-borders-clinic-msf-52eb140ee9185c983eb4a03ebeb2bf9f?

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Haiti’s transitional council deepens political chaos by voting to oust the prime minister

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s long-running political crisis deepened Friday when the country’s transitional presidential council announced it had voted to fire Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, just two weeks before the panel is supposed to step down.

https://apnews.com/article/haiti-transitional-council-ousts-prime-minister-filsaime-5ed3d85bdf798b13171ce894ebeca66a?

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Glimmers of life appear after Haiti retakes control of a key area from powerful gangs

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — As the sun rose, a handful of women opened tattered beach umbrellas in the heart of Port-au-Prince and scanned the horizon before opening their fruit and vegetable stands.

https://apnews.com/article/haiti-control-gangs-carrefour-aeroport-9e248bf212c16bf5f35bceb7770667b4?

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4 people convicted of conspiracy in US trial tied to 2021 assassination of Haiti’s president

MIAMI (AP) — A Florida jury on Friday convicted four men of conspiracy in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, whose death led to extraordinary turmoil in the Caribbean nation.

https://apnews.com/article/haiti-assassination-plot-florida-0c4b12972bc0d387140deeb9e8326b3d?