- Written by Henri Astier & Ali Abbas Ahmadi
- bbc news
The capital, Port-au-Prince, has been in turmoil for months.
Haiti's government declared a 72-hour state of emergency on Sunday after an armed group attacked Port-au-Prince's main prison, killing at least 12 people and causing about 4,000 inmates to escape.
The gang's leaders say they want to force Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is currently overseas, to resign.
The group aiming to oust him controls about 80% of Port-au-Prince.
Thousands of people have been killed in violent gang wars across the country since 2020.
A government statement said two prisons were attacked over the weekend: one in the capital and another in nearby Croix-des-Bouquets.
The government said acts of “insubordination” were a threat to national security and announced that it would immediately impose a night curfew from 8:00 p.m. local time (1 p.m. Monday, Japan time) in response.
Those detained in Port-au-Prince included gang members charged in connection with the 2021 murder of President Jouvenel Moïse.
The gang's leader, Jimmy Sheridier (nicknamed “Barbeque”), declared a coordinated attack to eliminate him.
“We are all united, both the armed groups in the provincial cities and the armed groups in the capital,” said a former police officer believed to be behind several massacres in Port-au-Prince.
Haiti's police union had called on the military to help strengthen the capital's main prison, which was attacked late Saturday.
Reuters reported that the prison doors remained open on Sunday and there were no police officers in sight. Three inmates who tried to escape died in the courtyard, the report said.
An AFP reporter said a visitor to the prison saw about 10 bodies, some with signs of gunshot wounds.
A volunteer prison official told Reuters that 99 prisoners, including a former Colombian military officer jailed for killing President Moïse, had chosen to remain in their cells for fear of being killed in the crossfire.
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Violence has been widespread since President Moise was assassinated in his home in 2021. The president has not been replaced, and no elections have been held since 2016.
Under a political agreement, Henry was scheduled to resign by February 7. However, the scheduled elections were not held and he remained in his current position.
Haiti has not had a single elected government official since the last elected senator's term expired in January 2023.
Claude Joseph, who served as acting prime minister at the time of President Moïse's assassination and is now leader of the opposition People for Development, said in an interview with the BBC that Haiti was living in a “nightmare”.
Joseph said Prime Minister Henry “wants to be in charge of government for as long as possible.”
“He agreed to resign on February 7th. He has now decided to stay in office, despite massive protests calling for his resignation across the country. It is unfortunate that they are using violent means to force his resignation.”
Anger over the political vacuum and the shocking level of violence has sparked several demonstrations against the government, with demonstrators demanding the prime minister's resignation.
