[Epoch Times, 15 ottobre 2022](Full report by Epoch Times reporter Chen Ting) UN officials said on Friday (October 14) that due tobandan important fuel depot blocked,Haitipeople are experiencing catastrophic hunger, with over 4 million people facing severe problemsfood crisis。
According to extensive foreign media reports, a powerful company called “G9 and Family”bandThe coalition, which surrounded a major fuel depot in early September, called for the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry and protested the surge in oil prices following the Prime Minister’s announcement to end subsidies. for fuel.
It was gang leader Jimmy CherizierHaitiThe National Police, which outlined its plans for Haiti’s future, which includes the creation of a “Council of Wise Men,” with one representative for each of Haiti’s 10 provinces, also hopes to serve as a cabinet.
Cherize also asked the Henry government to declare an amnesty and cancel arrest warrants for members of the organization, a request that has not been answered so far.
Gangs have blocked the distribution of diesel and gasoline for more than a month, most deliveries have stopped, and looting and gunfights have become more common. The move, along with tens of thousands of protesters, has blocked the capitalPort-au-Princeand other major city streets, leaving severe shortages that force hospitals to shut down, gas stations to close, and banks and grocery stores to limit working hours.
For the first time in Haiti, catastrophic hunger has emerged, said Ulrika Richardson, UN humanitarian coordinator in Haiti, in a telephone interview with Reuters.
“Gang violence has cut off the capital from the south of the food-producing region, which means we are now experiencing greater food insecurity,” he said.
Richardson said other countries need to do more to support Haiti, as the Caribbean nation received less than 30 percent of the funding needed for its humanitarian response plan this year.
“Even as we face the multiple crises Haitians are facing right now … security and fuel crises, we also need to make sure we invest in addressing root causes in the long run such as impunity, corruption, etc.”, he has declared.
About 19,200 people in Haiti’s Soleil region are in famine, according to an analysis by UN agencies and humanitarian groups on Friday. Famine is declared when at least 20% of households in an area are in a state of famine.
A total of 4.7 million people, nearly half of Haiti’s population, are experiencing a serious situationfood shortagescondition.
Jean-Martin Bauer, head of the WFP office in Haiti, previously told reporters that the situation was “on the verge of collapse”.
Henry and his 18 cabinet members called for foreign troops nearly a week ago to crack down on violence and end the fuel lockdown. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has proposed the creation of a “rapid action force” to help the Haitian police. It is not clear which countries would participate in such a force.
Next Monday, the UN Security Council meets to discuss the proposal.
According to a report released Friday by the United Nations (Connection), there have been many episodes of group sexual assault in the area. Children aged 10 and older have experienced sexual violence, including mass rape for hours in front of their parents or children, the report said.
“Sexual violence is used by gangs to instill fear, and it is alarming that the number of cases is increasing as the humanitarian and human rights crisis in Haiti deepens,” said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Nada Al-Nashif.
The United States has dispatched a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to Haiti, said Samantha Power, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Friday.
The team is dispatched in response to natural disasters and complex emergencies and typically includes infectious disease specialists, nutritionists and logisticians.
The US State Department said it provided support to the Haitian police and sent a Coast Guard ship to patrol the area.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Responsible editor: Ye Ziwei
