Haiti’s transitional ruling council, which is leading the Caribbean nation following the resignation of its prime minister amid a wave of gang violence, chose politician Edgard Leblanc Fils as its head on Tuesday, April 30.
Announcement of the selection, which took place during a ceremony in the capital Port-au-Prince, comes after the long-awaited council was sworn in last week, marking a step forward in restoring functional government.
Leblanc Fils, a former Senate president, will have a coordinating role within the nine-member governing body as it attempts to restore a semblance of order.
The new council came to power as the unpopular and unelected prime minister Ariel Henry submitted his formal resignation last week.
Henry had promised in March to step down once a council was installed after armed gangs rose up and demanded his ouster.
One of the council’s first tasks will be to appoint a new prime minister.
Haiti has no functioning parliament and has not had a president since the assassination of Jovenel Moise in 2021. Elections were last held in 2016.
The transitional body is scheduled to lead the country until fresh polls, with an elected government to take over by February 6, 2026.
Kenya will lead multi-agency teams to Haiti to fight gangs.
Officials said the first team of about 200 officers will probably land in Haiti on May 24.
American troops are active in building barracks to house the troops according to sources.
Kenya will lead a multi-agency team to Haiti to fight gangs that have controlled much of the country.
Kenya which will lead the team to combat the gangs plans to deploy more than 1,000 officers to Haiti to help in the mission.
The teams are from the Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU), Anti Stock Theft Unit (ASTU), General Service Unit (GSU), and Border Patrol Unit (BPU).
This is a combat-trained team that officials say can handle the situation on the ground professionally.
President William Ruto said the country is ready to deploy police to the Caribbean country to contain gangs controlling much of it.
This follows the swearing-in of the Transitional Presidential Council (TPC) Thursday which Ruto argued is a crucial step in the political transition of Haiti.
Ruto said TPC has the singular task of moving speedily to re-establish key organs of the state critical to the restoration of law and order and necessary for the ushering of hope to all Haitians as prescribed by the Decree of April 12, 2024.
“In implementing the roadmap contained in this political accord, Kenya stands ready and willing- in concert with a broad alliance of nations in Africa and CARICOM- committed to Haiti’s stability, to rapidly execute the security support infrastructure envisaged under UN Security Council 2699 (2023),” he said.
Kenya assures the TPC of Haiti of its full support as it shepherds the country through this complex interregnum, he added.
Haiti: The basics
The Caribbean country shares a border with the Dominican Republic and has an estimated population of 11.5 million
It has a land area of 27,800 sq km, which is slightly smaller than Belgium and about the same size as the US state of Maryland
Chronic instability, dictatorships and natural disasters in recent decades have left Haiti the poorest nation in the Americas
An earthquake in 2010 killed more than 200,000 people and caused extensive damage to infrastructure and the economy
A UN peacekeeping force was put in place in 2004 to help stabilise the country and only withdrew in 2017
In July 2021, President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated by unidentified gunmen in Port-au-Prince.
Amid political stalemate, the country continues to be wracked by unrest and gang violence.
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