CNN
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Government of Haiti requested international military assistance as the country grapples with intertwined security, energy and health crises, according to a statement from Jean-Junior Joseph, an adviser to the Prime Minister of Haiti.
“After serious reflections, facing a serious humanitarian crisis in Haitianwhere hospitals do not have enough energy to operate, cholera is returning within tragedies, the Council of Ministers decided last night, 7 October to request military assistance from the community. international community in response to such an unbelievable humanitarian crisis,” the statement was sent to CNN on Thursday.
It is not clear from which countries the government has requested military assistance.
The request comes after Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry called for international help in a televised address to the nation on Wednesday night.
“I am calling on the international community to help us, support us in any way necessary to avoid the situation from getting worse. We need to be able to distribute water and medicine because cholera is breaking out again,” said Henry.
“We need to reopen businesses and clear the way for doctors and nurses to work. We ask for their help to be able to distribute fuel and for schools to reopen,” he added.
Dozens more cases of cholera have been diagnosed in Haiti, adding urgency to warnings about the Caribbean nation’s origins in turmoil amid an economic and political crisis.
According to the Haitian Ministry of Health, the deadly infection has killed eight people and 68 new cases were identified in the first week of October according to the medical humanitarian group Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The evolving new public health emergency is unlikely to come at a worse time.
Anti-government protests – now in their seventh week – have paralyzed the country, with schools, businesses and public transport largely closed across the country. Since August 22, Haitians have been protesting against persistent gang violence, poverty, food insecurity, inflation and fuel shortages.
Their fury was further heightened last month when Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced that he would cut fuel subsidies to fund the government – a move that doubled pump prices. Haiti’s powerful gangs have exacerbated the fuel crisis by blockading the country’s main port in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Thousands of Haitians continue to protest in various cities across the country, calling for the government to resign.
