Protesters enter inside the courtyard of the international airport during a demonstration to denounce poor police governance, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has ordered all diplomatic personnel in Haiti to immediately leave the country as soon as security conditions permit, citing the rapidly devolving and unstable conditions there.
The order comes amid reported violent gang killings of police officers and protests in Haiti.
“The Prime Minister has ordered an immediate involuntary departure from Haiti of all diplomatic personnel or as soon as security conditions permit,” a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted.
“Up to this time, there was a voluntary departure order in place and all staff at the embassy chose to stay. Per the new instructions, they are to leave for home as soon as conditions permit.”
The statement said this “is only a temporary measure” in view of recent developments in Haiti that require “a corporate security and intelligence assessment and restaging”. The statement said that all Bahamian diplomats are safe.
The statement continued: “This morning the Chargè reported that they had been stopped by Haitian police and relieved of their vehicle and weapons. This is part of a protest by the Haitian National Police against their own authorities.
“There also is a report of five Bahamians from Bahamasair who landed at Port-au-Prince Airport who were unable to leave the environs of the airport. They are all safe and well.
“The security situation appears less stable over the past three days in the country, and we are taking steps out of an abundance of caution.
“The pattern of security concerns is one of ebb and flow and these withdrawals are sometimes necessary to regroup. The security forces in our country have been alerted to these developments.”
The Associated Press reported that outraged rebel police officers “paralysed” Port-au-Prince yesterday in protest of a slew of killings of police officers by Haitian gangs.
More than a hundred protesters blocked roads, shot guns into the air, and broke through gates in the capital’s airport and the Prime Minister’s house, with tensions escalating throughout the day, AP reported.
“Gangs have killed at least 10 officers in the past week; another is missing and one more has severe bullet wounds, according to the Haitian National Police,” AP reported.
“Video circulating social media — likely recorded by gangs — shows the naked and bloodied bodies of six men stretched out on the dirt, their guns laying on their chests. Another video shows two masked men who are smoking cigarettes from the dismembered hands and feet of the dead men,” AP said.
This comes after a protracted period of violence and tension in Haiti after its President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in his home by armed men in July 2021.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said once conditions improve, a team will be sent back into Haiti without further announcement.
