PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The White House said Monday it was watching the growing crisis in Haiti with “great concern”, as authorities imposed a state of emergency after a mass prison break.

“We’re monitoring Haiti’s rapidly deteriorating security situation with great concern,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a call.

Also, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply concerned” by the situation in Haiti, with a new spate of extreme violence — including a deadly attack on a prison — prompting a state of emergency in the country.

The UN was also alarmed “by the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Port-au-Prince” and reiterated the need for urgent action, particularly in providing financial support for the multinational security support mission that is backed by the UN, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, was largely shut down Monday,with residents only venturing out for essentials,  AFP reporters witnessed due to the state of emergency.

The prison break came in a new spate of extreme violence sweeping through Port-au-Prince, where armed gangs who control much of the city have wreaked havoc since last week.

An AFP reporter said some locals were on the street looking to buy water and fuel the morning after the state of emergency and a night-time curfew were declared.

Schools and banks were closed, and people sheltered for safety in schools, sports venues, gyms and public buildings, often without adequate toilets, health facilities, or drinking water.

“This morning the city is paralysed,” Carlotta Pianigiani, a coordinator in Port-au-Prince for the Alima medical NGO, told AFP.

“Public transport is practically at a standstill, private vehicles are rare, and schools are closed. The day is uncertain, and some roads are also barricaded.”

She said 15,000 people were displaced in weeks of recent unrest and that the largest public hospital suspended operation last week, adding that the security situation was “already very tense”.

The gangs say they want to oust Prime Minister Ariel Henry who has led the crisis-wracked Caribbean nation since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021.

About a dozen people died in the violence at the National Penitentiary in the capital on Saturday night, with only a few of the estimated 3,800 inmates still inside.

In a statement late Sunday the Haitian Government said security forces would “use all legal means at their disposal to enforce the curfew and detain those who violate it”.

It said the Government would “re-establish order and take the appropriate measures to take back control”.

Haiti’s Government is notoriously weak — kidnapping and other violent crime are rampant and gangs are often better armed than the police.

Gang leaders and suspects charged in the assassination of Moise were among those incarcerated in the prison, located close to the National Palace, the Haitian daily Le Nouvelliste said.

It said the prison had been under surveillance by the attackers, who utilised drones.

Powerful gang leader Jimmy Cherisier, known by the nickname Barbecue, said in a video posted on social media that the armed groups were acting in concert “to get Prime Minister Ariel Henry to step down”.

The UN Security Council in October approved an international police support mission to Haiti that Nairobi had agreed to lead, but a Kenyan court ruling has thrown its future into doubt.

On Friday, Henry signed an accord in Nairobi with Kenyan President William Ruto on deploying the force.

Haiti, the Western hemisphere’s poorest nation, has been in turmoil for years, and the 2021 presidential assassination plunged the country further into chaos.

No elections have taken place since 2016 and the presidency remains vacant.

Economy and Finance Minister Patrick Michel Boivert, who is leading the Government in the absence of the prime minister, said that the decree takes into account the attacks perpetrated on the night of March 2 by armed gangs against the two largest prisons in the country.

He said the attacks on the National Penitentiary and the Croix-des-Bouquets Prison have resulted in deaths and injuries among the ranks of the police and prison staff, as well as the escape of dangerous prisoners.

“Considering that these actions endanger national security, the Government of the republic, referring to the decree of March 3, 2024 declaring a state of emergency throughout the West department … and in order to restore order and take appropriate measures to regain control of the situation, decree a curfew throughout this territory Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 8:00 pm to 5:00 pm,” said Boivert.

The decree said that the measure does not apply to law enforcement officers on duty, firefighters, ambulance drivers, health personnel, and duly identified journalists.

The Government said that the police have been ordered to use “all legal means at their disposal to enforce the curfew and apprehend all offenders”.

In a statement on social media on Sunday, the Ministry of Communication said the attack on the prison “sought to release those who were imprisoned for acts of murder, kidnapping, and other serious crimes”.

Only around 100 of the National Penitentiary’s estimated 3,800 inmates were still inside the facility Sunday after the gang assault, Pierre Esperance of the National Network for Defence of Human Rights said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence in the Dominican Republic said it has increased the deployment of military forces on the Dominican-Haitian border.

Brigadier General Freddy Soto Thormann, director general of Cesfront, said while the border remains secure, they will continue to apply restrictive measures if necessary.

He said coordinated and joint actions are being carried out with commander of the army, General Carlos Fernández Onofre.

The United States Embassy in Port-au-Prince has urged Americans in Haiti to depart the country “as soon as possible by commercial or other privately available transportation options, in light of the current security situation and infrastructure challenges.

“US citizens wishing to depart Port-au-Prince should monitor local news and information on security conditions from commercial transportation providers, and should arrange to leave Haiti when security conditions permit doing so,” it said.

The embassy said there was limited operations on Monday and that operations may be further affected during the week because of gang-related violence and its effects on transportation and infrastructure.

— AFP and CMC