Violence forces venue change for Haiti council swearing in
By Mattea Bubalo
A new body tasked with forming Haiti’s next government will swear in its members on Thursday, as violence continues in the capital.
A swathe of recent gang violence forced officials to move the ceremony from the National Palace to the outgoing prime minister’s office.
Ariel Henry said last month that he would resign after armed groups blocked his return to the country.
The gangs are in control of most of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
They have capitalised on the power vacuum left by the prime minister’s exit and expanded their control over swathes of the country, which has effectively been rendered lawless in places.
Ariel Henry resigned after being prevented from returning from Kenya, where he had signed a deal to import a multinational security force in a bid to restore law and order.
His departure has left Haiti, an impoverished Caribbean nation home to more than 11 million people, without a prime minister from 12 March.
A newly formed transitional council, expected to name an interim prime minister, has since scrambled to impose tight security measures ahead of a ceremony swearing in its nine members.
