Haiti extends state of emergency for one month

Haiti’s government on Thursday said it would extend a state of emergency in its Ouest Department, the seat of the capital city, for another month after an escalation in violence from gangs seeking to oust the prime minister while he remains abroad.

A declaration in the Caribbean country’s official gazette said the state of emergency would extend until April 3, with a nightly curfew until March 11.

The government said this was in order to “reestablish order and take appropriate measures to retake control of the situation.”

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Authorities first announced the state of emergency on Sunday evening as fighting escalated, thousands of inmates were broken out of prison and estimated tens of thousands displaced while Prime Minister Ariel Henry had travelled to Kenya to seek the leadership of an international force intended to fight the gangs.

Henry remains in Puerto Rico, apparently unwilling or unable to return to the capital, which has seen gunfire break out around key transport hubs including the international airport. The US has been pushing him to “expedite” a political transition.