By: Staff Writer
November 12, 2024
Haitian Prime Minister Gary Conille ousted after only six months in office, but as he leaves, violence is surging in the country in crisis.
An executive order, signed by eight of the council’s nine members, named businessman and former Haiti Senate candidate Alix Didier Fils-Aimé as Conille’s replacement.
Conille, a former United Nations official, was brought in to lead Haiti through an ongoing, gang-led security crisis and had been expected to help pave the way for the country’s first presidential elections since 2016.
He described his ousting as illegal, saying in a letter – seen by Reuters news agency – that it raised “serious concerns” about Haiti’s future.
Alix Didier Fils-Aimé is the former president of Haiti’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry and ran an unsuccessful campaign for Senate in 2015. The businessman studied at Boston University and was considered a private-sector candidate for the position before Gary Conille took the seat.
Meanwhile, violence has surged amid Conille’s firing as the ruling council scrambles to keep order.
Haiti’s main airport temporarily shut down Monday as gangs attempted to seize control, the U.S. embassy reported, the same day a new interim prime minister was expected to take over the direction of a country facing a surge of violence.
Firefights between gangs and police broke out in parts of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, with heavily armed officers ducking behind walls as civilians ran in terror. In other upper class neighborhoods, gangs set fire to homes.
The United States Embassy in Haiti issued a travel warning saying that the city’s airport was shut down due to “gang-led efforts to block travel to and from Port-au-Prince which may include armed violence, and disruptions to roads, ports, and airports.”
It comes after reports that gangs shot at a Spirit airline flight and photos shared with the Associated Press of bullet holes in the plane, though The Associated Press was not able to immediately confirm the incident with authorities.