Haiti Prime Minister has resigned after gangs in the country blocked his return from Kenya.
The Prime Minister Ariel Henry had traveled to Kenya a few weeks ago to meet with President William Ruto who has pledged to send up to 1,000 police officers to the country that has been brought down to its knees by gangs.
While in Kenya, gangs in Haiti swore that they would block his return and demanded for his resignation, at one point taking over the national airport and breaking into jails to free other gang leaders.
After leaving Kenya and making several unsuccessful attempts to land at his home country, Henry opted to land in Puerto Rico where he has resigned from.
“The government that I am leading will resign immediately after the installation of [a transition] council,” Henry was quoted by the BBC as saying.
“I want to thank the Haitian people for the opportunity I had been granted. I’m asking all Haitians to remain calm and do everything they can for peace and stability to come back as fast as possible.”
According to the BBC, a UN peacekeeping force was put in place in 2004 to help stabilise the country and only withdrew in 2017
“In July 2021, President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated by unidentified gunmen in Port-au-Prince. Amid political stalemate, the country continues to be wracked by unrest and gang violence,” the BBC reported.
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The decision by President Ruto to send 1,000 Kenyan police officers to Haiti has elicited strong opposition with many Kenyans questioning the basis on which the decision was made and the strong insistence to send the officers despite court orders blocking the same.
Earlier this week, the BBC reported that police officers who had agreed to travel to Haiti were withdrawing from the mission over security fears.
