The US State Department has announced a charter flight for its citizens stranded in Haiti, as gang violence and hunger grip the impoverished country.
Police in the capital Port-au-Prince are trying to recapture areas held by notorious gang leader Jimmy Chérizier.
Chérizier, known as “Barbecue”, has a stronghold in the Delmas neighborhood and police are trying to arrest him.
On Saturday police spokesman Lionel Lazarre said several “bandits” had been killed in the operation.
Mr. Lazarre said police units entered the neighborhood on Friday evening.
In another statement, the police said they fired shots at members of Barbecue’s gang, cleared several roadblocks, and seized firearms.
Officials talked about another operation on Saturday in which officers tried to regain control of the capital’s main port, which has been shut since 7 March due to growing violence.
The situation for ordinary Haitians remains precarious and dangerous, while many embassies and consulates are airlifting their citizens out.
On Saturday stranded Americans were told by the State Department a charter flight would depart from Cap-Haitien, a port city about 120 miles (193km) from Port-au-Prince.
The State Department said only US citizens with valid visas would be allowed to travel and the flight would only go ahead if the situation at Cap-Haitien remained stable.
Last week, Washington airlifted its non-essential embassy staff from Port-au-Prince.
Gang leader Barbecue has been one of the most outspoken enemies of Ariel Henry, demanding his resignation ever since the latter was sworn in as prime minister.
Last Tuesday, Mr Henry resigned as prime minister after weeks of mounting pressure and escalating violence.
He had not been allowed back into Haiti after leaving in late January for visits to Guyana and Kenya, where he had signed a deal on the deployment of an international security force to help quell the violence.
Meanwhile, the US Senate on Thursday confirmed career foreign service member Dennis Hankins to be US ambassador to Haiti, where widespread violence has brought social order to the brink of collapse.
The final bipartisan roll call vote was 89 to 1.
Key senators involved in Haiti policy said they were anxious to get an ambassador on the ground to better assess needs there as the Caribbean nation’s capital, Port-au-Prince, has been gripped by highly coordinated gang attacks on law enforcement and state institutions.
There has not been an ambassador in place since 2021.
The unrest has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes and prompted the United States, Germany, and European Union embassies in Haiti to evacuate personnel.
A US Marine unit specializing in terrorism has also been deployed to support security at the US embassy, which will remain open while limited operations “focused on assistance to US citizens and supporting Haitian-led efforts to secure a peaceful transition of power” will continue, US Southern Command said Tuesday.
President Joe Biden nominated Hankins in May 2023.
The former ambassador to Mali and to Guinea has worked for the State Department for nearly four decades. He served in Haiti earlier in his foreign service career.
The role opened up when Michele Sison left the post in October 2021, going on to serve as assistant secretary of state for international organizational affairs.
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 stabilize 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
By Agencies
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