高級住宅街に１４人の遺体　混乱続くハイチ

【ポルトープランスＡＦＰ＝時事】カリブ海の島国ハイチの首都ポルトープランスの高級住宅街で１８日、１４人の遺体が見つかった。（写真は、ハイチの首都ポルトープランスで、ギャングに殺害された人々の遺体を運ぶ救急隊員）
　地元住民らはＡＦＰに、１４人の死の状況については不明だと話した。ただ、住宅地ペチョンビルにあるラブール、トマッサンの２地区は夜明けごろから武装ギャングの攻撃を受けていたとしている。
　目撃者らよると、ギャングは地区内の銀行やガソリンスタンド、民家を襲撃。ペチョンビルでは１８日午後も銃声が鳴り響いていた。
　住民のビンセントさんは、ギャングは「目出し帽をかぶり、車やバイクでやってきた。自前の救急車も引き連れていた。それからペチョンビルの住民を殺害した」と話した。
　ハイチでは、武装ギャングがアリエル・アンリ首相の退任を要求。暴動が３週間にわたり続いている。
　２０２１年のジョブネル・モイーズ大統領暗殺事件の後に結ばれた政治合意では、総選挙を実施し、今年２月７日にアンリ首相が政権移譲することになっていた。だが、アンリ氏はこれを行わなかった。
　アンリ氏は先週、周辺諸国や米国からの圧力もあり、辞任を表明。暫定的な統治体制への権限移譲に同意した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/03/19-16:35）

Fourteen bodies were found in an affluent suburb of Haiti's capital Monday, as international efforts accelerated to fill a political vacuum created by weeks of gang violence that has forced the impending departure of the prime minister.
Local residents told AFP they did not know the circumstances of the deaths but said that the Laboule and Thomassin neighborhoods, in the suburb of Petion-Ville, had been under attack by what they said were armed criminals since dawn.
Witnesses said gang members attacked a bank, a gas station and homes in the area. Gunfire continued to ring out in Petion-Ville in the afternoon.
They came wearing balaclavas in their cars, on motorcycles, with their own ambulance, then they massacred the population of Petion-Ville, said local resident Vincent Jean Robert.
I was on my motorcycle when they arrived and started shooting, a motorcycle taxi driver named Cadet told AFP, while adding, We don't know if it's bandits or the police who were behind this.
He suspected that the victims were those who had been out late at night, searching for something to eat for their children.
Amid the violence Monday morning, a judge narrowly escaped an attack on his home, a relative told AFP.
Haiti has been engulfed for three weeks in a gang uprising by well-armed groups saying they want to topple Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
Last week Henry agreed to step aside to allow the formation of an interim government, following pressure from neighboring Caribbean countries, including the CARICOM regional body, and the United States.
The situation remains dire even as Washington voiced hope Monday that a transitional body to lead the country, set up at a crisis meeting a week ago, could be ready as soon as today -- though as of that evening nothing had been announced.
I understand that Haitian stakeholders are very close to finalizing membership and remain in active discussions with CARICOM leaders as it relates to the makeup of the Transitional Presidential Council, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters in Washington.
The announcement of this council, we believe, will help pave the way for free and fair elections and the deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission, he said, referring to a UN-backed, Kenyan-led force that aims to bring stability to Haiti.
- 'Famine and malnutrition' -
The council, which will include seven voting and two observer members representing a broad spectrum in Haiti and its diaspora, will be in charge of naming an interim government before elections, which have not been held since 2016.
Ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on Haiti Monday, deputy US ambassador Robert Wood had told journalists that a decision on the make-up of the transitional council was close.
After the closed-door session, Jamaican Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith noted that talks are progressing well, though she added it's a difficult process.
The Security Council meeting came as the United Nations announced that the first helicopter flights had begun in an air bridge set up between Haiti and neighboring Dominican Republic to deliver aid.
UNICEF, the United Nations' children's agency, offered a bleak assessment of the situation in the country over the weekend, saying Sunday it was almost like a scene out of 'Mad Max,' and warning people were suffering famine and malnutrition with aid groups unable to gain access.
That same day, a curfew was extended until Wednesday in the Ouest department, which includes Port-au-Prince. A state of emergency is set to end April 3.
Several countries including the US and European Union member states have evacuated diplomatic personnel from Haiti due to the crisis.
Meanwhile, efforts are continuing to organize Nairobi's security mission to back up Haiti's overwhelmed police force.