Home Australia Haitian gang leader Ernst Julme killed in shootout as crime boss ‘Barbecue’ faces setback in taking over Port-au-Prince as country’s hunger levels reach ‘worst ever’

Haitian gang leader Ernst Julme killed in shootout as crime boss ‘Barbecue’ faces setback in taking over Port-au-Prince as country’s hunger levels reach ‘worst ever’

by Elijah
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Haitian gang leader Ernst Julme (pictured) has been killed in a shootout as warlord Jimmy 'Barbecue' Cherizier prepares to attempt to take over the country's capital

Haitian gang leader Ernst Julme has been killed in a shootout as warlord Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier prepares to attempt a takeover of the country’s capital.

Ernst Julme, known as Ti Greg, was shot dead during a police operation on Thursday as tensions continue to flare in Port-au-Prince.

The leader of the Delmas 95 gang had recently escaped from Haiti’s largest prison in a mass jailbreak on March 2.

There has been widespread gang-led violence in Haiti, and it has seen bodies pile up on the streets in recent days.

The country has been thrown into chaos and hunger has reached its worst levels ever.

Haitian gang leader Ernst Julme (pictured) has been killed in a shootout as warlord Jimmy 'Barbecue' Cherizier prepares to attempt to take over the country's capital

Haitian gang leader Ernst Julme (pictured) has been killed in a shootout as warlord Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier prepares to attempt to take over the country’s capital

There has been widespread gang-led violence in Haiti, and it has seen bodies pile up on the streets in recent days

There has been widespread gang-led violence in Haiti, and it has seen bodies pile up on the streets in recent days

There has been widespread gang-led violence in Haiti, and it has seen bodies pile up on the streets in recent days

The country has been thrown into chaos and hunger has reached its worst levels ever

The country has been thrown into chaos and hunger has reached its worst levels ever

The country has been thrown into chaos and hunger has reached its worst levels ever

Julme’s death marks a setback for the Viv Ansanm alliance, which plans to take over Port-au-Prince amid uncertainty.

Barbecue, a former elite cop, is the leader of the most feared gang coalition, and he is determined to overthrow Haiti’s shaky government.

The crime boss has conquered territory and there are rumors that the gangs are working together to plan a coordinated attack to seize power in the city.

The death also came a day after another gang leader was killed in an apparent resurgence of vigilante justice, police and sources confirmed.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed reports that political groups in Haiti had selected all members of a transitional council that would take over presidential power ahead of future elections.

The council, which aims to unite Haiti’s divided political class, is tasked with appointing a replacement for Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who announced his resignation on March 11 when gang violence prevented his return to the country.

“The Secretary-General welcomes reports that Haitian stakeholders have all nominated representatives to the Transitional Presidential Council,” Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq told a media briefing.

The transition plan was brokered in Jamaica by the Caribbean Intergovernmental Community (CARICOM) together with representatives of Haiti’s government and opposition.

CARICOM released a list of political groups that would be represented on the council.

The nine-member council was expected to be completed within days of Henry’s resignation, but some political factions in Haiti were unable to unite behind one representative.

One party rejected the plan and then withdrew, while groups left out of the plan criticized the return of politicians from previous administrations seen as corrupt.

Barbecue has threatened reprisals against politicians and their families if they take part in the proposed council.

Nearly half of Haiti's population struggles to feed themselves as gang violence spreads across the country, with several areas close to famine

Nearly half of Haiti's population struggles to feed themselves as gang violence spreads across the country, with several areas close to famine

Nearly half of Haiti’s population struggles to feed themselves as gang violence spreads across the country, with several areas close to famine

Inflation and poor harvests have also helped push Haiti to its worst levels of food insecurity ever

Inflation and poor harvests have also helped push Haiti to its worst levels of food insecurity ever

Inflation and poor harvests have also helped Haiti to its worst levels of food insecurity ever

Heavy gunfire was heard Thursday near the National Palace off the Champ de Mars square in downtown Port-au-Prince as people fled shootings in the capital’s Petion-Ville suburb.

On Wednesday, suspected gang members in Petion-Ville, which has been under attack in recent days, were killed and set on fire – including a leader known as Makandal.

The Caribbean country has been gripped by violence since rival gangs unleashed a wave of attacks this month, including raids on police stations and the international airport.

The conflict has left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.

The state has been largely absent during the violence, and the police are ill-equipped against heavily armed criminal groups seeking to expand their territorial control over the capital.

Regional leaders are trying to form a transitional council and Prime Minister Henry has promised to step down once it is established.

But he is currently stranded abroad, locked out of the country after a visit to Kenya to discuss the deployment of an international security force. This is now on hold.

Nearly half of Haiti’s population is struggling to feed itself as gang violence spreads across the country, with several areas close to famine, according to international organizations.

Inflation and poor harvests have also helped push Haiti to its worst levels of food insecurity ever, they said.

“Rising hunger fuels the security crisis that is crushing the country. We need swift action now – waiting to respond on a large scale is not an option,” said Jean-Martin Bauer, World Food Programme’s Haiti director.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) – an organization that sets a scale used by the United Nations and governments to assess hunger – said in a report that about 4.97 million people out of a population of about 11.5 millions faced crisis or worse levels. of food insecurity.

Eight areas were now assessed to be in a state of emergency – the worst level before famine, it said.

The US government organized Thursday's departure for 90 US citizens from Haiti's northern city of Cap-Haitien to Miami and from Port-au-Prince to the Dominican Republic

The US government organized Thursday's departure for 90 US citizens from Haiti's northern city of Cap-Haitien to Miami and from Port-au-Prince to the Dominican Republic

The US government organized Thursday’s departure for 90 US citizens from Haiti’s northern city of Cap-Haitien to Miami and from Port-au-Prince to the Dominican Republic

About 70 Americans were previously evacuated out of the country

About 70 Americans were previously evacuated out of the country

About 70 Americans were previously evacuated out of the country

More than 30,000 people have fled violence and shortages in the capital in just two weeks this month, according to UN data

More than 30,000 people have fled violence and shortages in the capital in just two weeks this month, according to UN data

More than 30,000 people have fled violence and shortages in the capital in just two weeks this month, according to UN data

These include the Artibonite Valley, Haiti’s agricultural heartland, which has been hit hard by gangs expanding from the capital Port-au-Prince, rural parts of the Grand-Anse peninsula and neighborhoods in the capital such as the impoverished Cite Soleil district.

The WFP said Haiti is now suffering the worst levels of food insecurity on record, with many people resorting to desperate measures and taking on more debt as armed groups take over farmland and steal crops.

The IPC report found that only five percent of Haitians had received humanitarian food aid, and the WFP said operations were ‘woefully underfunded’.

The UN and other international agencies and embassies have evacuated staff and other foreigners by helicopter because Haiti’s main airport is not secure.

The US government on Thursday organized the departure of 90 American citizens from Haiti’s northern city of Cap-Haitien to Miami and from Port-au-Prince to the Dominican Republic.

About 70 Americans were previously evacuated out of the country.

More than 30,000 people have fled violence and deprivation in the capital in just two weeks this month, according to UN data, most of them people who had already lost their homes and were living in camps or with other families.

While at least 360,000 people are internally displaced in Haiti, according to UN estimates.

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