Amid the rising gang violence and political crisis in Haiti, India has launched a rescue operation to bring back Indian citizens. As per the latest update, twelve Indians have been successfully brought to Dominican Republic from Haiti in a mission called Operation Indravati.
As per the External Affairs Minister Subramaniam Jaishankar, twelve Indians were evacuated on March 21, 2024 with the help of Dominican Republic. “India begins Operation Indravati to evacuate its nationals from Haiti to Dominican Republic.
Fully committed to thr security and well-being of our nationals abroad,” stated the External Affairs Minister thanking the Dominican Republic for its help in evacuating Indian nationals from Haiti.
As per MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, around 70 to 90 Indians are residing in Haiti and around 60 of them have registered with the Embassy in Dominican Republic to return if need be. Of these 12 have been evacuated. Operation Indravati will continue until all Indian nationals are safely brought back to New Delhi. India is monitoring the situation in the Caribbean nation through its Embassy in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. India does not have an Embassy in Haiti.
The Caribbean nation of Haiti has been plagued by violence for over two years since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. In the power vacuum that followed, the country’s defacto leader Prime Minister Ariel Henry assumed power with the support and backing of several nations.
Gang violence in Haiti has been an issue for several years. However, earlier this month, the issued developed into a crisis following a prison break resulting in the release of 3700 gang members. During the former Haiti’s PM visit to Kenya, gang members took over law and order and streets to demand the resignation of Ariel Henry, the PM of Haiti.
After the prison break, “Jimmy Barbeque Cherizier,” the leader of the gang G9 Family and Allies gang in Port-au-Prince claimed responsibility for the increase in attacks across the capital and called for Henry’s resignation. With the gang violence on the rise, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced and there has been an uptick in the cases of arson, rape and ransom kidnappers and more.
The violence between armed groups and the government has impeded access to healthcare facilities and forced the closure of schools and worsened an already dire hunger crisis. The armed groups now control 80 percent of Haiti’s capital, according to the United Nation’s estimates, while continuing to fight for the rest. While Henry was outside the country, the gangs led a siege to the country’s main airport to prevent his return.
