After the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, Haiti has asked for foreign troops to protect its ports, airports and other infrastructure. The US and UN have not announced any plans to provide military assistance.
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Haiti’s interim government on Friday urged the US and United Nations to send troops to help secure the country, after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise.
“We definitely need assistance and we’ve asked our international partners for help. We believe our partners can assist the national police in resolving the situation,” Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph told a news agency
The US had already offered the services of the FBI and other agents a day after the murder of Moishe by gunmen who entered his residence. However, a senior US official said there are no plans to provide Haiti with military assistance “at this time.”
Earlier a group of Haiti senators declared Senate leader Joseph Lambert as provisional president on Friday.
It comes two days after Haitian President Jovenel Moise was shot dead in his home.
Yet, the move has been ignored by interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph. The United Nations views Joseph as Haiti’s legitimate leader until elections are held later this year.
“I’m not interested in a power struggle,” Joseph told the Associated Press news agency. “There’s only one way people can become president in Haiti. And that’s through elections.”
The move by the Haitian senators will likely plunge the country further into a constitutional crisis.
Haiti’s constitution states Moise should have been replaced by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, but he died of COVID-19 recently.