The secretary general of the United Nations called for an armed intervention in Haiti in light of the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in the country.
Haiti, long suffering from numerous problems, has entered especially dire straits within the past few months. Armed gangs have almost completely paralyzed the country, taking over critical infrastructure and strategic sites across the country, according to a recent U.N. brief.
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“It’s an absolutely nightmarish situation for the population of Haiti, especially in Port-au-Prince,” Antonio Guterres told the Security Council, according to Al Jazeera.
“I believe that we need not only to strengthen the [Haitian] police — strengthening it with training, with equipment, with a number of other measures — but that in the present circumstances, we need an armed action to release the port and to allow for a humanitarian corridor to be established,” he said.
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Gangs have taken control of Haiti’s primary fuel storage, the Varreux terminal, and the vital harbor of Port-au-Prince; the loss of the former has crippled the ability of basic Haitian infrastructure to function, while the latter means that no humanitarian assistance can get through. Though U.N. officials praised the recent decision of the United States and Canada to send “tactical equipment” to the Haitian National Police, they agree with Guterres in saying a more immediate response is needed. A recent cholera outbreak in the country has heightened the urgency.
