Haiti’s PM Ariel Henry resigns

Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry has agreed to resign following weeks of mounting pressure and increasing violence in the country, reports BBC.

Caribbean community chair and Guyana President Irfaan Ali confirmed the information.

It comes after regional leaders met in Jamaica on Monday to discuss a political transition in Haiti.

Mr Henry is currently stranded in Puerto Rico after being prevented by armed gangs from returning home.

He had led the country since the former president’s assassination in July 2021.

Speaking following the meeting in Kingston, the Caribbean community chair said: “We acknowledge his resignation upon the establishment of a transitional presidential council and naming of an interim prime minister.”

Heavily armed gangs have controlled the streets of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince in recent days, demanding the resignation of the unelected prime minister.

Port-au-Prince and the surrounding region is under a month-long state of emergency, while a curfew has been extended.

Mr Henry had been in Kenya to sign a deal on the deployment of an international security force to help tackle violence when a coalition of gangs attacked police stations and stormed two of Haiti's largest prisons.

A plane carrying Mr Henry was stopped from landing following sustained attacks at Haiti's international airport.