Canada announces additional flight out of Haiti

OTTAWA, Canada, CMC – Canada said it will provide an additional evacuation flight out of Haiti this week due to a spike in the number of requests to flee the country where criminal gangs are seeking to remove the government of Prime Minister Dr Ariel Henry from office.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said in a message on X, formerly Twitter, that officials logged numerous extra requests leading up to what was set to be the last scheduled government-sponsored flight out of the country.

“As our assisted departures out of Haiti came to a close, we saw an influx of last-minute requests for help,” she said, adding that for those who missed the flight on Sunday, “we will have an additional flight this coming week”.

A government-organised flight left Sunday and was expected to be the last of three as Canada wound down its evacuation efforts in Haiti.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sunday, “obviously the situation in Haiti is extraordinarily difficult, which is why over the past couple of years, Canada has been deeply, deeply involved in support for the Haitian national police, in international diplomatic efforts to bring democratic stability to Haiti, and we are there for vulnerable Canadians who happen to be in Haiti.

“We started our evacuations a number of weeks ago and we're going to continue to make sure we're there to support people as best as possible,” he added.

Haiti has been plunged into civil unrest and Prime Minister Henry has already indicate he would step down once the transitional presidential council (CPT) decides on a replacement.

Last Friday, the CPT members announced the finalisation of the political agreement between all stakeholders involved in the establishment of the Council.

“This agreement, which has been harmonised with the decree document on the organisation and operation of the CPT, will be immediately signed by the stakeholders and then the two documents will be officially transmitted to the Government, via CARICOM, the body facilitating the dialogue process,” the release stated.

Last month, armed gangs stormed the main prisons in Port-au-Prince, freeing a number of prisoners. Their actions, which included burning down police stations and gun battles near the airport led to airlines cancelling  flights to the country.

Haiti's government declared a state of emergency March 3 in Ouest Department, which includes the capital, in response to the ongoing gang violence and deteriorating security situation. There's also a shortage of food and medicine.

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