France: Evacuation of Vulnerable Citizens Continues in Haiti

March 26, 2024 Hour: 3:50 pm

On Tuesday, France is continuing the evacuation of its vulnerable citizens in Haiti, where gang violence seems to be a nightmare with no end in sight.

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The French government has made helicopters available to its elderly compatriots and people undergoing medical treatment to leave the troubled nation, even accompanied by their families.

Some 1,100 French nationals, many of them dual nationals, are living in Haiti, according to the digital newspaper Haiti Libre, which did not give an exact figure for the number of French nationals planning to leave the Antillean country. It is not an evacuation as such, the newspaper explained, based on data from the European authorities.

The French nationals concerned are being transported to a helicopter carrier before being evacuated by sea to Guadeloupe or Martinique. They will decide for themselves whether to remain on the islands or return to France.

#France says to offer evacuation flights for vulnerable citizens in #Haiti.

Violent street battles started erupting in Haiti at the end of February. The French Foreign Ministry said it would provide special flights to evacuate some of the 1,100 French citizens.

“France’s… pic.twitter.com/LTDb4B0UW3

— ⚡️�� World News ��⚡️ (@ferozwala)
March 24, 2024

In that vein, due to growing security concerns, the Bahamian embassy in Haiti evacuated its diplomatic staff to New Providence.

In its most recent count, the Dominican Republic’s defence ministry confirmed that nearly 300 diplomats have already been transferred by helicopter from the neighbouring nation, where the international airport has been closed for more than 15 days.

The ministry said that 296 diplomats, including 174 men, 105 women, 17 children from the European Union, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations and the Cuban and Canadian embassies, were evacuated through security operations.

On 7 March, the government of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who resigned four days later, decreed a State of Emergency for a month, as gang disobedience and collective panic persisted.

This measure is a continuation of the one established on the 4th, 5th and 6th of this month. The extension of the State of Emergency will be in force in the entire Western department for a period of one month, until Wednesday, 3 April.

The decision is aimed at restoring order and adopting appropriate measures to regain control of the situation.