Kenyan officials say they are still committed to sending police officers to Haiti to combat gang violence. But, after Haiti's PM agreed to quit, the deployment has been put on ice until a new government is installed. Authorities in Kenya are putting on hold a planned deployment of 1,000 police officers to a UN Security Council-approved mission to combat gang violence in Haiti. The UN's highest decision-making body last year greenlighted the Kenya-led, multinational mission to the impoverished Caribbean nation, where armed groups have largely overrun the capital, Port-au-Prince . But Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who had requested the deployment of a foreign armed force a year ago, said on Tuesday that he would resign from his position, throwing the would-be mission into disarray.  Why is Haiti's PM quitting? The armed groups, who rule much of the capital, had demanded Henry's departure after they launched a series of attacks on police stations, prisons and other infrastructure. Henry agreed to step down after mounting pressure and a surge in violence. Armed groups have prevented him from returning from Puerto Rico following a trip to Kenya last week, leaving him stranded in the US territory. "I'm asking all Haitians to remain calm and do everything they can for peace and stability to come back as fast as possible," Henry said in a video address announcing his decision to step down. But Henry's move has thwarted Kenya's effort to send troops to Haiti, senior government officials said. Abraham Korir Sing'Oei, a Kenyan Foreign Ministry official told Kenya Television Network that it would be difficult to deploy police officers to Haiti in the absence of a recognized government there. "What has happened over the last few hours presents a change in circumstances, because there is no administration on which to anchor a deployment. So as such we would have to wait and see what kind of administration is going to be installed in Haiti," Sing'Oei said. For some analysts the current political turmoil in Haiti certainly creates a vacuum that needs addressing before any deployment. Haruun Isaack, a political analyst, told DW that Haiti's security situation has become complex following Henry's resignation. He suggested that only a clear long-term strategy would deal with the crisis. "What options or chances are there for Kenyan police to go and intervene and support the government of Haiti if at all there is government in Haiti?" Isaack said, adding that, if there is no leadership in place, then it may be perceived that the forces are dealing with rebels.  Could Kenya U-turn on the mission?  Kenyan Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said the government was still committed to its primary objective of assisting authorities in Haiti. "The status is, as you know it, there was a small court matter," he said. "That small matter has been resolved because the court said we needed to have a reciprocal agreement with the Haiti. That reciprocal agreement has already been signed about a week ago, so we are now in the pre-deployment stage. All the other programs are in place including the status of forces agreement." Kindiki said that, when the deployment eventually takes place, Kenyan police officers will be responsible for patrolling high-risk areas, providing support for humanitarian aid distribution, and working with and training Haitian national police personnel. "Kenya is the lead nation, but there are so many other countries that have pledged to contribute troops, and this came from the mandate of the United Nations Security Council, so it's part of our International obligations," Kindiki said. Nerima Wako-Ojiwa, a political analyst, told DW she doubts that Kenya's government would back down on its decision to send troops to Haiti despite the ongoing political turmoil. "Our president is going to remain firm; I do not see any chance of him stepping down and pulling away to send police officers [to Haiti]," she said. Is the US influencing Kenya's resolve? Wako-Ojiwa said Kenya's quest to support the United States was influencing its resolve to hold on to the multinational mission. "So you can clearly see that the relationship in terms of America is to support America, and America being in an election year this time around, it is going to be very difficult for them to be involved in peace keeping processes," she said. "They have to rely on their allies, so Kenya is going to remain firm."  US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that he understands Kenya's concerns. "If you look at what the Kenyan government said in its statement is that they have to have a government with which to collaborate, which has been an important part of their understanding. It's a perfectly natural thing to expect," he said. What do ordinary Kenyans make of the Haiti mission? Martin Njoroge, a businessman who supports the deployment, told DW from Kenya's capital, Nairobi, that if Haiti isn't supported it will collapse into a failed state. "Kenyans actually support this peace mission, but I think it is a wake-up call for Africans, for Kenyans to be in touch with history," Njoroge said. "Nothing happens in a vacuum. Kenya is the only one that agreed to go to Haiti." Not everyone supports the idea — especially after Henry announced his resignation. Dennis Otieno, another businessperson, told DW that he was concerned about the safety of Kenyan officers during such a volatile time in Haiti. "This idea is a small-minded idea, narrow-minded, one-sided, pig-headed, parochial idea," Otieno said. "It is as if you are driving somebody from a sufferer's surrounding to where there is a thirst for gunfire — 76 people have lost their lives." Wako-Ojiwa said such safety concerns were legitimate and must not be ignored. "We are talking about preparation in terms of training, [for] our police officers. People are worried that they might not have the capacity to deal with the kind of violence [in Haiti]," she said, adding that existing ammunition and equipment are insufficient.   

People who were trapped inside the hospital after a heavily armed gang surrounded the area in Port-au-Prince have been evacuated. The hospital director said three armored trucks were sent for the rescue. A heavily armed gang surrounded the Fontaine Hospital Center in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on Wednesday. The hospital is considered a lifeline to the community living in the Cite Soleil shantytown, which has been seeing violent attacks by gangs against each other as well as residents. The hospital founder and director, Jose Ulysse, told the AP news agency that gangs were setting homes around the hospital on fire, due to which people inside were unable to leave. Police help evacuate Ulysse had initially said some gang members entered the hospital, but later said none of them had come in, and denied reports that they had entered the facility and taken patients hostage. "There was no hostage-taking. There was a gang war, but the war is around the hospital. We've had neighboring houses burnt down," he told the AFP news agency. "All the health staff took cover... and we had to call the police to come and help us evacuate all the people who couldn't move on their own, among them women who had a caesarean yesterday and couldn't walk," he said. Ulysse said Haitian police arrived with three armored trucks and evacuated 40 children and 70 other patients to a safe space. Some patients fled the scene on their own. Ulysse said those responsible were members of the Brooklyn gang, led by Gabriel Jean-Pierre, also known as "Ti Gabriel." The gang has around 200 members and is involved in extortion, hijacking of goods and violence, according to a UN report. ean-Pierre is also the leader of a gang alliance called G-Pep, one of the two rival coalitions in Haiti. Haitian gangs have become more powerful since the assassination of  President Jovenel Moise, and the numbers of kidnappings and killings have risen. Earlier this year, at least 20 armed gang members burst into a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders and took away a patient in an operating room.

The United Nations Security Council approved on Monday deploying a multinational force to Haiti, where authorities have been struggling for nearly a year to control criminal gangs. The force was described as a Multinational Security Support mission "to take all necessary measures."  The resolution authorizes the force to deploy for one year, with a review after nine months. "More than just a simple vote, this is in fact an expression of solidarity with a population in distress," said Jean Victor Geneus, Haiti's foreign affairs minister.  "It's a glimmer of hope for the people who have been suffering for too long," he added. The deployment was approved by 13 votes, with permanent members Russia and China both abstaining. The council also approved widening a UN arms embargo to include all gangs, rather than just some individuals, following a push from Beijing. What do we know about the mission? The taskforce is expected to be led by Kenya, which pledged last summer to send 1,000 troops. Neighboring Caribbean countries Jamaica, the Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda also expressed readiness to contribute forces. The United States meanwhile promised logistics and $100 million (approximately €95.43 million) in support. Haiti's foreign minister described the vote as a "glimmer of hope" and an "expression of solidarity with people in distress." "It is a glimmer of hope for people who have been suffering the consequences of a difficult political, socio-economic, security and humanitarian situation for too long," Jean Victor Geneus told the Security Council. Why is it controversial? The decision to deploy the multinational force comes nearly a year after Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry requested the immediate deployment of a foreign armed force to help control the gangs, alongside 18 top government officials. Henry, who leads an unelected administration has also cited the violence and instability as a reason for a delayed election. The country has been left without any elected representatives since January. However, many are still wary of international intervention. A previous UN mission which started in 2004 was marred by a sex abuse scandal and a cholera outbreak which killed over 9,000. It ended in 2017. The introduction of cholera to the country was blamed on UN peacekeepers dumping infected sewage into a river. Meanwhile, Kenya's police, which is expected to make up much of the new mission, has long been accused of torture, deadly force and other abuses. Monday's resolution asked countries contributing to the mission "to adopt appropriate wastewater management and other environmental controls to guard against the introduction and spread of water-borne diseases."

The new policy represents a major change to US immigration rules, with President Joe Biden telling migrants: "Do not just show up at the border." President Joe Biden's administration said it would immediately begin turning away Haitians, Cubans and Nicaraguans who enter the United States illegally, outlining the new policy on Thursday. The plans are a major expansion of current immigration rules, and the hardest measures yet taken by the Biden administration to address arrivals at the southern border with Mexico. What is the new policy? The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) outlined the new policy, saying it would expand on current curbs for Venezuelans. The new rules for Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans seek to offer "safe, orderly and lawful pathways to the United States, including authorization to work," the department said in a statement. Under the plans, up to 30,000 qualifying migrants in total from those four countries would be permitted to reside in the Uniteds States for up to two years and get permission to work in the country — provided they do not attempt to enter the US illegally.  It also outlined "significant consequences for those who fail to use those pathways." "Nationals from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua who do not avail themselves of this process, attempt to enter the United States without authorization, and cannot establish a legal basis to remain will be removed or returned to Mexico," the department said in a statement. The new immigration policy is also dependent on the Mexican government's "willingness to accept the return or removal of nationals" from those four countries. Since the implementation of the policy for Venezuelans, which was launched in October, DHS said arrivals for Venezuelans dropped by 90%. In addition to the new policy, the US plans to provide additional funds to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. The United States has flagged $23 million (€21.8 million) in aid to "assist migrants with emergencies and to foster their local integration," Ken Salazar, the US ambassador to Mexico, wrote in a post on Twitter. He added that the United States plans to expand refugee admissions in Latin America "for those experiencing persecution." What did Biden say? Biden said the US immigration system was "broken" and the new rules would provide a safer option to ease the crowded arrivals at the border. "This new process is orderly, it's safe, and it's humane," he said. In a message to would-be migrants from Nicaragua, Haiti and Cuba who do not have a US sponsor, Biden said: "Do not just show up at the border." Biden has faced increasing pressure to address the humanitarian and political issue at the border with Mexico. "These actions alone are not going to fix our entire immigration system," Biden said, but they could "help a good deal." The US president is set to travel to El Paso, Texas, to visit the border with Mexico this weekend. He is also due to hold talks with his Mexican counterpart, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau next week. What is the situation on the US-Mexico border Though the new policy would allow for up to 360,000 people per year from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to enter the US, the number of arrivals currently outpaces that figure. US Border Patrol officers stopped migrants from the four countries more than 82,200 times in November alone, The Associated Press reported. Regardless of how the border is crossed, people entering the United States are permitted to claim asylum, but only 30% of applications are granted. There is currently a backlog of more than 2 million cases in immigration courts, meaning that people who apply for asylum often wait years for their cases to be heard. The Biden administration has also been reluctant to take harsher measures like those adopted under his predecessor, Donald Trump. During Trump's administration, the US required asylum-seekers to wait across the border in Mexico — resulting in dangerous and crowded conditions in the camps.

The death toll in Haiti's powerful earthquake jumped to over 1,200 on Sunday, as crews desperately dug through collapsed buildings for survivors in the Caribbean nation still reeling from its president's assassination.   In Les Cayes, as in other hard-hit cities on the southwestern peninsula, most of the population spent the night sleeping outdoors in front of their houses -- or what remained of them -- amid fears of new aftershocks.   The streets there were filled with the grinding sounds of heavy equipment lifting debris from collapsed buildings, as well as the quieter sounds of people pulling away rubble by hand in desperate searches for the missing.   "Thanks to God and also to my phone, I'm alive," said Marcel Francois, who was rescued from his collapsed two-story home in hard-hit Les Cayes.   His younger brother Job Francois said a desperate-sounding Marcel had called to say, "'Come save me, I'm under the concrete'... He told me he couldn't breathe, that he was dying."   The neighbors and Job spent hours freeing him and his 10-year-old daughter from the heavy debris.   But at least 1,297 people were killed in the 7.2-magnitude tremor that struck Saturday about 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the west of the densely populated capital Port-au-Prince, which was devastated in a massive 2010 quake.   Some 13,600 buildings were destroyed and over 13,700 damaged, trapping hundreds under rubble and leaving more than 5,700 people injured, the country's civil protection agency said in an update.   - President assassinated -   Rescuers face new pressure as Tropical Depression Grace approaches, raising fears of torrential rainfall, flash floods and mudslides from late Monday, according to the US National Weather Service.   The United States and other nations have pledged to help Haiti cope with this latest disaster.   Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman spoke with Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry on Sunday to reiterate Washington's support and said the United States was "already putting resources in place" to bolster the beleaguered country's emergency response, spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.   USAID head Samantha Power tweeted Sunday that her agency had deployed a 65-person urban search and rescue team -- equipped with "specialized tools, equipment & medical supplies" -- to join an earthquake disaster response team already in Haiti.   Haiti's neighbor the Dominican Republic said it was shipping 10,000 food rations and medical equipment. Mexico also sent an aid shipment. Cuba and Ecuador dispatched medical or search-and-rescue teams.   And Chile, Argentina, Peru and Venezuela also offered help, as did the United Nations.   "We want to plan a better adapted response than in 2010 after the earthquake -- all aid coming from abroad should be coordinated by the Civil Protection agency," said Henry.   A 7.0-magnitude quake in January 2010 left much of Port-au-Prince and nearby cities in ruins, killing more than 200,000.   More than 1.5 million Haitians were made homeless in that disaster, which also destroyed 60 percent of Haiti's healthcare system, leaving island authorities and the international humanitarian community with a colossal challenge.   The latest quake comes just over a month after President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in his home by a team of gunmen, shaking a country already battling poverty, spiraling gang violence and Covid-19.   Police say they have arrested 44 people in connection with the killing. Source: AFP/BSS AH

  Rtv news Haiti police killed four "mercenaries" they said were behind the assassination of President Jovenel Moise Wednesday and took two more into custody, as the impoverished and crisis-hit Caribbean nation was pitched into uncertainty. Police did not identify the suspects or say what their motives were for the gun attack on Moise and his wife Martine, who survived, at their private residence in the capital Port-au-Prince in the early hours of Wednesday. With the UN Security Council scrambling to hold an emergency meeting, set for midday Thursday, interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph declared a national "state of siege" and said he was now in charge of the country. The airport was closed in Port-au-Prince, but witnesses said the city was quiet with the streets deserted and no extra security forces on patrol. Police said late Wednesday they had been combing the city ever since the attack. "Four mercenaries were killed, two were intercepted under our control. Three policemen who had been taken hostage have been recovered," said Leon Charles, director general of Haiti's national police. The attack took place around 1:00 am (0500 GMT) at Moise's home. Shell casings could be seen on the street outside as forensics experts combed the scene for evidence, and a nearby car was peppered with bullet holes with one window shattered. Moise's wife was first treated at a local hospital then rushed by air ambulance to the Ryder Trauma Center in Miami. Joseph said she was "out of danger", later adding that "her situation is stable." He said the president was "assassinated at his home by foreigners who spoke English and Spanish." "This death will not go unpunished," Joseph said in an address to the nation. Haiti's ambassador to Washington, Bocchit Edmond, said the killers were "professional" mercenaries disguised as US Drug Enforcement Administration agents. "We have a video and we believe that those are mercenaries," he said. - 'Another earthquake - Moise had ruled Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, by decree after legislative elections due in 2018 were delayed. In addition to the political chaos, kidnappings for ransom have surged in recent months, reflecting the growing influence of armed gangs in the country. Haiti also faces chronic poverty and recurrent natural disasters. The capital's streets were at a standstill in the hours after the assassination, with just a handful of citizens who expressed fear and disbelief. "We didn't expect it. This is another earthquake in Haiti," said a mother of two who gave her name only as Bernadette, referring to the disaster which devastated the country in 2010. "I can't believe it, I can't believe it," said 50-year-old Jacquelyn. The country will observe two weeks of national mourning from Thursday. - 'Horrific' - The president had faced steep opposition from swathes of the population that deemed his mandate illegitimate, and he churned through seven prime ministers in four years. Joseph -- who spoke by telephone to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Wednesday -- has only been in his post for three months, and was due to step down within days after Moise named his replacement on Monday. As well as presidential, legislative and local elections, Haiti was due to hold a constitutional referendum in September after it was twice postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. US President Joe Biden condemned the killing as "horrific" and said Washington was ready to assist in any way. "We condemn this heinous act, and I am sending my sincere wishes for First Lady Moise's recovery," Biden said. Washington also called for Haiti to proceed with the elections, with State Department spokesman Ned Price saying a fair vote would "facilitate a peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected president." UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Haitians to "remain united" and "reject all violence." European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned of "risk of instability and a spiral of violence." - Governed by decree - Moise -- a 53-year-old former entrepreneur from the island's north -- burst onto the political stage in 2017 with a message of rebuilding, campaigned on populist pledges, and was sworn in in February 2017. The end date of his mandate became the source of a tense standoff. Moise maintained that his term of office ran until February 7, 2022, but others claimed it ended on February 7, 2021. The disagreement stems from the fact that Moise was elected in a 2015 vote that was cancelled for fraud, and then re-elected in November 2016. Without a parliament, the country fell further into crisis in 2020, and led to Moise governing by decree, fuelling growing mistrust of him. - Delayed elections - Though calm held in the hours after the assassination, many feared Haiti could tip further into violence. "How much worse can hell get?" asked Haiti expert Irwin Stotzky, a professor at University of Miami law school. "Haiti faces even more violence and death and failure as a democratic nation than ever before, which is hard to imagine given its recent and chaotic history." The killing comes days after Moise appointed Ariel Henry, a neurosurgeon who studied in France, as Haiti's new prime minister. Henry, 71, is close to the opposition, but his appointment was not welcomed by the majority of opposition parties, who had continued to demand the president step down. The Dominican Republic ordered the immediate closure of its border with neighboring Haiti after the assassination. Source: AFP/BSS AH