Security forces in Haiti killed three people while repelling an armed attack on the Central Bank building in the capital Port-au-Prince, reports Agence France-Presse.
The Central Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH) is one of the few institutions still operating in the city's business district, which has been under siege by armed groups for the past three weeks.
An armed group attacked that building on Monday, but they were pushed back by the Bank's security together with the police and the army - one employee told France Press. He stated that three or four attackers were killed, and one Bank guard was wounded.
The bank announced yesterday on the X network that it is deeply grateful to the security and the police.
Since the end of February, Haiti has plunged into mass violence with the demand for a change of government, and armed groups have, among other things, freed thousands of prisoners from the largest prison. However, the situation there is not yet called a civil war.
Prime Minister Ariel Henri, under pressure from neighboring Caribbean countries and the US, accepted last week to resign and allow the formation of a transitional government.
UNICEF - The UN Children's Agency gave a dark assessment of the situation in Haiti, stating on Sunday that there are almost scenes from the movie "Mad Max" and warned that hunger has arisen because the stores have long been looted, there are no imports, and due to the mass violence of humanitarian agencies they can't deliver help.
A curfew is in effect in part of Haiti, and the state of emergency in the entire country formally lasts until April 3.
The US and EU countries have evacuated diplomatic staff.
Armed groups, which the government calls "criminals", control entire parts of the country, including 80 percent of the capital. They were accused of numerous crimes, murders, rapes and kidnappings for ransom.
With Port-au-Prince airport still closed, the UN mission in Haiti said last Sunday it would establish an "air bridge" between Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic by helicopter as soon as possible to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.
The main port has been closed since March 7 due to "sabotage and vandalism", making it difficult to deliver international aid.
The armed struggle to seize power in Haiti, a poor country in the Caribbean, is led by Jimmy Cherizie (48), a former policeman and then a bandit nicknamed "Barbeque" (Barbecue) because he tends to burn those who resist him.
"We will not lie to people by saying that we are leading a peaceful revolution," he told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday. "We do not have a peaceful revolution. We are leading a bloody revolution".
In interviews, Sherizia compares herself to Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Fidel Castro, even Robin Hood, but above all, she is an admirer of the Haitian dictator Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, who ruled with a firm hand from 1957 to 1971.
According to the "InSight Crime" organization, which investigates organized crime, the weapons, vehicles and police uniforms used by Cherizou's forces were obtained with the help of the highest officials of the government of President Jovenel Moise, who was assassinated in 2021.
Since October 11, 2022, Cherizius and his forces have been blocking the supply of fuel to Haiti from the largest terminal, and the UN has assessed that "his actions have directly contributed to the economic paralysis and humanitarian crisis" in that country, which has led to mass discontent turning into armed conflict. rebellion.
Haitian police announced on Saturday that they had raided the headquarters of Cherizi's group and killed several of his men.
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