Home » World » United States Orders Evacuation of Personnel and Families from Haiti Amid Security Concerns

United States Orders Evacuation of Personnel and Families from Haiti Amid Security Concerns

Jakarta

Government United States of America have ordered non-essential personnel and families of government employees to leave Haiti along with the increasingly insecure situation in the Caribbean country.

The US Department of State also reiterated an earlier warning that Americans should not travel to Haiti.

“US citizens in Haiti should leave Haiti as soon as possible with other commercial or private transportation options, given the current security situation and infrastructure challenges,” the State Department said in a statement. AFPSaturday (29/7/2023).

“The US government is very limited in its ability” to assist Americans in countries who may need emergency assistance,” the State Department said, warning that “kidnapping is widespread” and that Haiti’s Ministry of Health had “confirmed a cholera outbreak.”

Staff at the US embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, already live under tight security, confined to protected residential areas and prohibited from walking around the capital or using public transportation or taxis.

The State Department statement did not say how many staff and family members would be affected by the return order, or the specific reason for the order given that Haiti has been in crisis for months.

– Violent crime on the rise –

Armed gangs control about 80 percent of Haiti’s capital, and violent crimes such as kidnapping for ransom, armed robbery and carjacking are on the rise in the impoverished Caribbean country.

With Haiti’s security forces overwhelmed, a US State Department advisor warned that “mass killings of suspected criminals have increased since late April.”

Earlier on Tuesday, AFP spoke to Haitian refugees who had been sheltering outside the US embassy in Port-au-Prince for several days.

(it/it)

2023-07-29 03:25:28
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