Haitian Protesters Demand PM's Ouster

Angry protesters rallied in the Haitian capital, demanding the departure of Prime Minister Ariel Henry after he failed to step down in line with a political agreement forged in 2022.

Haiti has been engulfed by unrest since Monday, with thousands of people demonstrating in Port-au-Prince and across the country.

Local media reported that some of the demonstrations have turned violent as protesters clashed with police and at least two people were shot and killed in the unrest.

According to an agreement concluded in December 2022 following the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise a year earlier, Henry was supposed to hold elections and then cede power to newly elected officials on February 7, 2024.

But Henry has remained in power, with an aide saying the prime minister intends to form a government of national unity.

The Western hemisphere's poorest nation, Haiti has been in turmoil for years, with armed gangs taking over parts of the country and unleashing brutal violence, leaving the economy and public health system in tatters.

The 2021 assassination of Moise plunged the country further into chaos. No elections have taken place since 2016 and the presidency remains vacant.

The protests have been called by several opposition parties and joined by workers from the National Agency for Protected Areas, an environmental agency that has rebelled against the government.

February 7 is a symbolic date for Haitians as it marks the anniversary of the end of the Duvalier dictatorship in 1986.

A police station in the northeastern province of Ouanaminthe came under attack, local media reported. Major roads and schools have been closed across the country since Monday.

The Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, said it was reinforcing its borders due to the violence.