Haiti: A new prime minister appointed to “restore security”

A new Haitian prime minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, was sworn in on Monday and promised to “restore security” in this Caribbean country hit by gang violence, the day after the dismissal of her predecessor by the Transitional Presidential Council.

A sign of the multidimensional crisis facing Haiti, a plane of the American company Spirit Airlines bound for the capital Port-au-Prince was hit Monday by gunfire and diverted to the neighboring Dominican Republic.

“Work tirelessly”

After only five months in power, outgoing Prime Minister Garry Conille was replaced, against his will and after a conflict with the Transition Council, by businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, who spoke directly on Monday on Haitian television.

The new head of government pledged in an inauguration speech in French to “work tirelessly (…) for political cohesion” and “the restoration of security” in the country.

“I make the commitment (…) to put my energy, my skills and my patriotism at the service of the national cause,” declared Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, who also spoke of upcoming “elections”, while the country is deprived of a president since 2021.

Crises

His predecessor Garry Conille was appointed at the beginning of June to try to stabilize the country. The decision to dismiss him from his position came on Sunday, when the Transitional Council wanted to change heads of several ministries against the advice of the outgoing prime minister.

Garry Conille denounced on Sunday a decision against him “tainted with illegality”. Haiti has suffered from chronic political instability for decades. But in recent months, this Caribbean country has had to face a new resurgence of gang violence, which controls 80% of the capital Port-au-Prince.

These armed groups, accused of numerous murders, rapes, looting and kidnappings for ransom, decided at the beginning of the year to join forces to overthrow Prime Minister Ariel Henry. After his resignation in April, the nine-member Presidential Transitional Council was set up to exercise executive power, with the heavy duty of restoring security and organizing elections – the last ones dating back to 2016.

Multinational force

The situation has continued to worsen since, despite the establishment of the multinational police support mission. Supported by the UN and the United States, this mission led by Kenya began to deploy this summer with just over 400 men so far.

On Monday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on Haitian political actors to “overcome their differences” and “work together,” according to his spokesperson. According to the UN mission in Haiti (Binuh), 1,233 murders were still committed between July and September, including 45% attributable to law enforcement and 47% to gangs, in this country of 12 million inhabitants.

In a sign of insecurity, a Spirit Airlines flight from Florida was diverted Monday to Santiago in the Dominican Republic, where an inspection “revealed evidence of damage to the aircraft consistent with gunfire” , according to the American low-cost carrier, which reported “minor injuries” to a crew member. Its connections with Haiti are suspended, like those of American Airlines.

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AFP

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