UN chief warns gangs could overrun Haiti's capital without additional international security support
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Gangs in Haiti could overrun the capital Port-au-Prince leading to a complete breakdown of government authority without additional international support for the country’s beleaguered national police, the United Nations chief warned. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a report released to coincide with a Security Council meeting Wednesday on the deteriorating situation in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country that “time is of the essence.”.
Further delays in providing the police with additional officers for the multinational force trying to curb gang violence or additional bilateral assistance “carry the risk of a catastrophic collapse of national security institutions,” he said. “This could allow the gangs to overrun the entire metropolitan area, resulting in a complete breakdown of state authority and rendering international operations, including those to support communities in need, in the country untenable,” Guterres said.
He told the Security Council: “We must urgently do everything in our power to prevent such an outcome.”. Kenya is leading the multinational police force and 217 additional officers arrived over the weekend bringing its total deployment to more than 600, below the 1,000 officers the country's president pledged. An additional 150 Guatemalans and an advance team of eight Salvadorean troops have also arrived, but the force remains far below its anticipated strength of 2,500 officers.
