France is opening special flights to evacuate its “most vulnerable citizens” from Haiti amid armed unrest in the country, the French foreign ministry said.
“Due to the suspension of commercial flights to Port-au-Prince, the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, together with the Ministry of Defence, is opening special flights to allow the most vulnerable citizens to leave the country,” the ministry said on X on Sunday.
The ministry added that the French embassy in Port-au-Prince remains open and continues to operate despite “deteriorating conditions.”
On February 29, gang violence erupted in the downtown area of Port-au-Prince while Haitian Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, was visiting Kenya to seek an agreement for the deployment of foreign forces in Haiti to fight organised crime.
The gangs said their goal was to prevent the prime minister from returning to Haiti.
They took control over many parts of the city and stormed Haiti’s largest prison, freeing an unconfirmed number of inmates.
The Haitian government declared a state of emergency in the capital region.
On March 11, Henry announced that he would resign when a transitional presidential council was created.
