By Michelle Nichols and Kanishka Singh
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the U.N. Security Council to urgently consider Haiti’s request for deployment of an international specialized armed force to address its humanitarian crisis, a U.N. spokesperson said.
“The Secretary-General remains gravely concerned about the situation in Haiti, which is facing an outbreak of cholera amid a dramatic deterioration in security that has paralyzed the country,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Sunday.
Haiti has ground to a halt since a coalition of gangs blocked the Varreux fuel terminal last month. The lack of gas and diesel has crippled transportation and forced businesses and hospitals to halt operations.
It has also led to a shortage of bottled water, just as the country confirmed a new outbreak of cholera, the spread of which is controlled through hygiene and clean water.
Haiti’s government on Friday authorized Prime Minister Ariel Henry to ask the international community for the “specialized armed force” to address the crisis caused by the blockade of the country’s main fuel port that has led to crippling shortages.
Guterres sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council on Sunday with options for enhanced security support to Haiti, Dujarric added.
The letter from the U.N. chief came a day after the United States said it was reviewing a request for international support from Haiti, which says it is seeking a “specialized armed force” to address its crisis.
The Montana Accord, a group of Haitian intellectuals and activists that has been highly critical of Henry, described the prime minister’s request as an act of treason and said that foreign troops would only make things worse.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Michelle Nichols; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
