[ad_1]
The Haiti government announced on Monday that it had approved what it called a ‘war budget’ of $ 275,000, which aims to alleviate the country’s crisis as gang violence rises.
Nearly 40% of the money goes to Haiti police and army “to fight against the armed groups that threaten national stability,”, while almost 20% will go to strengthen the Border that IT shares with the Dominican Republic, Haiti Transitional Board will say in a statement.
Another 16% go to social programs, including those that focus on education, health and humanitarian aid.
The council said that the special budget reflects the state’s commitment to act decisively and targets the country’s growing uncertainty.
However, the additional money will not be expected to alleviate the lack of resources that strikes an on-supported mission led by Kenyan police, struggling to help the local authorities end gang violence.
The announcement comes as gangs that control at least 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, still attacks communities around it.
Recently, a powerful gang coalition known as Viv Ansanm took control of the towns of Mirebalais and Saut’d’aau in Haiti’s central region, according to the National Human Rights Defense Network, a local group.
It noted that police officers fled at the Mirebalais police station and the local prison during the attacks.
“Armed gangs then set fire to the police station and took control of the prison and orchestrated a mass escape from the prisoners,” the organization said, noting that the prison held 533 prisoners.
Staff and patients at Mirebalais University Hospital were also evacuated.
At least 60 people were killed after the attacks launched on March 30 and 31, including gang members and the prisoners escape, according to the Human Rights Group.
Meanwhile, the neighboring city of Saut-D’eau fell on gangs on the afternoon of April 3, activists said.
Some people believe it was facilitated by the redeployment of law enforcement to Mirebalais, which left Saut-D’eau vulnerable, ”the group said in a report on April 10.
Two nuns and one police officer were among those who died during the attacks, while two journalists remain missing.
“By ignoring the collapse of the (central region), the transitional authorities show that they have no real plan to restore the rights and public safety of citizens,” the human rights group said. “The absence of state response has turned police into firefighters – constantly responding without strategic direction – while towns fall one after another.”
The group noted that civilians and self -defense groups in both towns “repeatedly raised alarms that were ignored.”
Meanwhile, more than 260 others died in another gang attack on two communities in the capital of Haiti, according to the UN political mission in Haiti who questioned the delay in response by the authorities.
The attacks occurred in Kenscoff and parts of Carrefour.
In general, from January 1 to March 27, more than 1,500 people were killed in Haiti, and 572 others injured, BiTuh said.
In addition, gang violence has left more than one million people homeless in the past year, according to the UN
____
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
[ad_2]
Source link
