Haiti to seek a foreign police force to combat gangs, official says

FILE PHOTO: People crowd around a petrol station after a group of Haitian gangs temporarily lifted a blockade leading to fuel shortages, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti November 14, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol/File Photo

Haiti has decided to ask the international community to provide a special police force to help with a humanitarian crisis caused by a blockade of the country's main fuel port which has led to crippling shortages, a Haitian official said on Friday.

Haiti has ground to a halt since a coalition of gangs blocked the Varreux fuel terminal last month. The lack of gas and diesel has crippled transportation and forced businesses and hospitals to halt operations.

FILE PHOTO: Tanker trucks are being filled with fuel at the Varreux fuel terminal for distribution after a group of Haitian gangs temporarily lifted a blockade leading to shortages, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti November 13, 2021. REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol/File Photo

It has also led to a shortage of bottled water, just as the country confirmed a new outbreak of cholera, the spread of which is controlled through hygiene and clean water.

"It was decided in the Council of Ministers last night ... to ask the international community for a special police force to deal with such an unbelievable humanitarian crisis," a spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Henry wrote in a text message.

It was not immediately evident which nations would receive such a request.

FILE PHOTO: Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry speaks at the Leaders' Second Plenary Session during the Ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 10, 2022. REUTERS/Mike Blake

The United Nations has not received an official request from the Haitian government, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Friday.

"That being said, we remain extremely concerned about the security situation in Haiti, the impact it's having on the Haitian people, on our ability to do our work, especially in the humanitarian sphere," Dujarric told reporters.

The U.S. State Department and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday tweeted that the United States remains "committed to helping Haiti restore security and democratic order."

Canada's foreign ministry on Friday said that 19 member countries of the Organization of American States, which is meeting in Peru, jointly affirmed solidarity with Haiti.

The statement said those countries were committed to helping Haitians "overcome the complex security challenges facing the country." (This story has been officially corrected after a Haitian official corrects initial statement to reflect that Haiti is requesting a special police force, not military assistance)

(Reporting by Brian Ellsworth in Miami, additional reporting by Michelle Nichols in New York, Humeyra Pamuk in Lima, Steve Scherer in Ottawa and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Alistair Bell)