An American woman and her child were kidnapped this week in Haiti, a Christian organization for which she worked announced on Saturday July 29.
“We can confirm that Alix Dorsainvil, the wife of our director, and their child were kidnapped Thursday morning July 27 from our site near Port-au-Prince,” El Roi Haiti said in a statement. .
According to the NGO, Alix Dorsainvil is a nurse and “worked tirelessly (…) to relieve those who suffer”. He is “a deeply loving and compassionate person who calls Haiti home and the Haitian people his family and friends,” the organization says.
Asked by Agence France-Presse, the US State Department said it was “aware of information on the kidnapping of two American nationals in Haiti”. “We are in regular contact with the Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them,” he added. According to the Washington Post, this 31-year-old American, originally from New Hampshire, lives in Haiti. She is married to the director of the organization, Sandro Dorsainvil.
The capital is 80% controlled by gangs
On the day of his abduction, Thursday, the Washingtons had ordered the departure of their non-essential personnel to Haiti as well as families, and called on American nationals to leave the country “as soon as possible” due to insecurity. The United States has been advising its citizens against traveling to Haiti for months, citing risks of “kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and a failing health infrastructure.”
US Embassy staff are already living in draconian security conditions, confined to a protected residential area and prohibited from walking in the capital or using public transport or taxis.
Gangs control around 80% of the Haitian capital, and violent crimes such as kidnapping for ransom, armed robbery and carjacking are common in this small, impoverished Caribbean country where a political, security and humanitarian crisis is compounding. .
With Haiti’s security forces overwhelmed, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry have called for international intervention to support the police. Mr. Guterres has called for an outside force to be sent to the UN, but the Security Council has asked him to submit a report by mid-August on all possible options, including a directed mission by the UN.
Kenya offers to lead a multinational force
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday that progress had been made in establishing a multinational peacekeeping force in the country, and that Washington was determined “to find a lead nation to do this “.
Several countries have said they support the idea of ??such a force. None had offered to lead it until Kenya announced on Saturday that it was ready to do so.
“Kenya has agreed to positively consider leading a multinational force in Haiti. Kenya is committed to deploying a contingent of 1,000 police officers to help train and assist Haitian police in restoring normalcy to the country and protecting strategic installations,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. His “proposed deployment”, however, requires a mandate from the UN Security Council as well as the agreement of local authorities, the ministry said.
Kenya has already deployed its peacekeeping forces overseas, including to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia.
