Haiti government declares state of emergency

The government of Haiti has declared a state of emergency amid rising tension in the country.

At the same time the government has imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew, after a series of protests that left about 12 people dead.

This was after a gang stormed a State penitentiary on Sunday March 3, 2024 and released 4,000 prisoners among them hardcore criminals.

Haiti declared a 72-hour state of emergency and night curfew in and around Port-au-Prince, from Sunday March 3 to Wednesday March 6.

Interior CS Kithure Kindiki (right) with his Haiti counterpart sign agreement on police deployment to Haiti on March 1, 2024. Photo: William Ruto

According to the government, the State of Emergency was one of the measures aimed at restoring order and stability in the country.

The official government statement was signed by Economy Minister Patrick Michel Boisvert in his capacity as Acting Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, three American Airlines cancelled flights to Haiti, as the American government requested its citizens to evacuate the country.

“U.S. citizens in Haiti should depart Haiti as soon as possible by commercial or other privately available transportation options, in light of the current security situation and infrastructure challenges.”

“United States citizens wishing to depart Port-au-Prince should monitor local news and information on security conditions from commercial transportation providers and should arrange to leave Haiti when security conditions permit doing so,” read a United States Government statement in part.

The State of Emergency came a few days after the government of Kenya and the Haitian Government signed a deal to send 1,000 police officers to Haiti.

The deal was signed at State House, Nairobi in the presence of Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry and President William Ruto.

However, the deal between Kenya and Haiti was signed despite a court order that barred the deployment of police officers to Haiti.