The US bans airlines from flying to Haiti and the UN suspends flights after two planes were shot down by gangs

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Tuesday that it will ban U.S. airlines from flying to Haiti for 30 days after gang attacks two planes shot down and the United Nations will temporarily suspend flights to Port-au-Prince, limiting humanitarian aid entering the country.

Bullets hit a Spirit Airlines plane as it was about to land in the nation’s capital on Monday, wounding a flight attendant and forcing the airport to close. Photos and videos obtained by The Associated Press show bullet holes in the interior of a plane. On Tuesday, JetBlue announced that one of its planes was also shot down while departing Port-au-Prince on Monday.

The shootings were part of a wave of violence that erupted as the country, plagued by gang violence, swore in its new prime minister after a politically tumultuous process.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the organization documented 20 armed clashes and more roadblocks that affected the humanitarian operation during Monday’s violence. Port-au-Prince airport will remain closed until November 18, and Dujarric said the UN will divert flights to the country’s second airport in the northern, quieter city of Cap Haitien.

The obstructed access to the epicenter of the violence, Port-au-Prince, is likely to be devastating as gangs choke the life out of the capital brought Haiti to the brink of famine. Dujarric warned that halting flights would mean “restricting the flow of humanitarian aid and humanitarian personnel into the country.”

A convoy of 20 trucks full of food and medical supplies in the south had already been postponed and an operation providing cash aid to a thousand people in the Carrefour area where the violence broke out had to be cancelled.

“We are doing everything we can to ensure the continuation of our operations in this challenging environment,” he said. “We call for an end to the escalating violence to enable safe, sustainable and unhindered humanitarian access.”

Life came to a standstill in much of Haiti’s capital on Tuesday after the wave of violence. Heavily armed police in armored cars outside the airport checked trucks used for public transport.

Schools were closed, as were banks and government offices. The streets, where only a day earlier gangs and police had been locked in a fierce gun battle, were eerily empty, with few passing by except a motorcycle with a shot man clinging to the back.

The sounds of heavy gunfire still echoed through the streets in the afternoon – a reminder that despite political maneuvering by Haitian elites and a strong push from the international community to restore peace, the country’s toxic gangs have largely of the Caribbean had a firm grip on them. nation.

The United Nations estimates that gangs control 85% of the capital Port-au-Prince. A UN-backed mission led by the Kenyan police to quell gang violence is facing a lack of funding and staff, prompting calls for a UN peacekeeping mission.

President Luis Abinader in the Dominican Republic, which shares a border with Haiti, was the first leader on the island to condemn the violence, describing the shooting as a “terrorist act.”

On Tuesday, a transitional council, set up in April to restore democratic order in Haiti, also condemned the violence.

“This cowardly crime, which threatens Haiti’s sovereignty and security, aims to isolate our country on the international stage. The perpetrators of these heinous acts will be hunted down and brought to justice,” the council wrote in a statement.

The council has drawn sharp criticism from many in Haiti who say the political strife allegations of corruption against three members fueled political instability, allowing gangs to stage violent power grabs like Monday’s.

That came to a head last weekend, when the former was fired interim Prime Minister Garry Conille – has been at odds with the council for a long time. They replaced him with businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, who was inaugurated on Monday surrounded by suit-clad officials and diplomats as gangs terrorized the capital around them.

Neither Fils-Aimé nor Conille have commented on the wave of violence.

Conille initially called the municipality’s decision illegal, but acknowledged Fils-Aimé’s appointment on Tuesday in a message on the social media platform X.

“(I) wish him success in fulfilling this mission. At this crucial moment, unity and solidarity are essential for our country. Long live Haiti!” he wrote. Fils-Aimé pledged to work with international partners to restore peace and hold long-awaited elections, a vow also taken by his predecessor.

But many Haitians, like 43-year-old Martha Jean-Pierre, have little interest in the political struggle, which experts say only gives gangs more freedom to further expand their control.

Jean-Pierre was among those who braved the streets of Port-au-Prince on Tuesday to sell the plantains, carrots, cabbage and potatoes she carried in a basket on her head. She had no choice, she said; selling was the only way she could feed her children.

“What good is a new prime minister if there is no security, if I cannot move freely and sell my goods?” She said, nodding towards her basket of vegetables. “This is my bank account. This is what my family depends on.”

It was a frustration that worried international players like the UN and the US, who have pushed for a peaceful solution in Haiti.

On Tuesday, the US State Department complained that Conille and the council were “unable to move forward in a constructive manner” and called on Fils-Aimé and the council to come up with a clear action plan outlining a shared vision on how to reduce violence and the path forward for holding elections to ‘avoid new stalemate’.

“The acute and immediate needs of the Haitian people require that the transitional government prioritize governance over the competing personal interests of political actors,” it wrote in a statement.

Download the FREE WPXI News App for the latest news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook And Tweet. | Check out WPXI NOW