At least 20 dead after attack on police station in Haiti

At least 20 people have died following an attack on a police station in Haiti by gunmen in the town of Gressier, which has been experiencing serious violence for several months due to gang activity, causing a serious humanitarian crisis and prompting the international community to send a security mission led by Kenya, which has already sent 400 police officers to the Caribbean island.

The death toll was confirmed by the mayor of Gressier, Jean Vladimir Bertrand, who said the situation remained tense despite the attack having taken place on Sunday, according to the newspaper ‘Gazette Haiti’.

This spiral of violence has led to around 600,000 internally displaced people in the country, more than half of whom are children, according to data from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

“Children in Haiti continue to suffer from multiple threats, including horrific violence and critical levels of displacement,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

In fact, the number of displaced children has increased by 60 percent since March, which equates to one displaced child every minute, forcing many of them to join gangs.

“The humanitarian catastrophe unfolding before our eyes is having a devastating impact on children. Displaced children are in desperate need of a safe and protective environment, as well as increased support and funding from the international community,” Russell added.

Haiti has been without a president since a group of armed men stormed his official residence in early July 2021 to assassinate him. Shortly after, Ariel Henry rose to the post of prime minister amid criticism and after several years of instability. In March of this year, he resigned following the wave of violence that shook the Caribbean nation.

Since then, a Haitian Transitional Presidential Council has been established, led by Edgard Leblanc, who was the highest representative of the Haitian Senate between 1995 and 2000. It has chosen former Prime Minister Garry Conille (2011-2012) as the new head of the transitional government. The aim is to temporarily fill the political vacuum in a phase that should conclude with the holding of elections in 2026, a decade after the last elections.