Haitian President Jovenel Moïse broke his silence on Thursday evening, after a week of violent demonstrations.

Moïse spoke in the aftermath of violent clashes between police and protesters in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

“I will not leave the country in the hands of armed gangs and drug traffickers,’‘ he said.

The Haitian president says his government is listening to the cries of the people.

‘‘We are listening to the people and a package of measures has been taken by the government. I asked the Prime Minister to come and explain them and apply them quickly to relieve our misery”, Moïse added.

The United States has recalled its non-essential diplomats and their families out of the country while urging its citizens not to go to the country.

Since February 7, anti-government protesters have been calling for the resignation of President Jovenel Moïse.

At least 7 people have been killed during protests over social inequalities, aggravated by alleged systemic corruption. </s> In Haiti, at least six people have died in nearly week-long protests demanding that President Jovenel Moise resign. The police have revealed that all 78 detainees at the prison in Aquin, a city on the Tiburon Peninsula, escaped around midday yesterday.

Witnesses said the prison break took place during an anti-Moise demonstration in front of the police station adjoining the penitentiary. Demonstrators are demanding Moise quit over a scandal centring on the Petrocaribe fund, under which Venezuela supplied Haiti and the other Caribbean and Central American countries with oil at cut-rate prices and on easy credit terms for years.

Investigations have shown that nearly 2 billion US dollars from the program were misused </s> Haitian Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant resigned Saturday after widespread protests thwarted his attempts to increase the nation’s fuel prices.

Lafontant was asked by Haiti’s Chamber of Deputies to answer questions regarding the violent protests that took place July 6-8, leaving at least seven people dead and dozens of businesses destroyed or looted.

Instead, he handed in his letter of resignation to President Jovenel Moise.

Earlier this month, the Commerce Ministry and Economic Ministry issued a joint statement announcing an increase of 38 percent to 51 percent for gasoline, diesel and kerosene. Protests erupted in the capital, Port-au-Prince, last week.

Lafontant, a 57-year-old doctor who took office in March 2017, had said the price hikes were needed for Haiti to balance its budget.

Demonstrators continued to protest in the capital on Saturday, demanding government leadership step down.

Amid the protests, the U.S. Embassy last week advised American citizens to remain inside.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> President Jovenel Moise said on Twitter that Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant had offered his resignation and that he had accepted it.

Lafontant's resignation came as he faced losing office through a vote of no confidence in the country's lower house of parliament.

Earlier this month, at least seven people were killed in violent protests over a plan to increase the price of fuel by up to 50 per cent.

Demonstrators burned tyres, looted shops and set cars on fire in the capital, Port-au-Prince, to protest the plan which Lafontant later abandoned. Protests also took place in other parts of the country.

Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and relies heavily on aid contributions from abroad.

Corruption and violence are commonplace in the Caribbean country, and anti-government protests often descend into riots. </s> Haiti is experiencing a new day of tension as anti-government protest escalates on Tuesday.

Protesters continue to press home their demand on president Jovenel Moïse to step down. Tuesday’s protest turned chaotic while six people have reportedly died since the protest begun last Thursday.

The news agency said 78 people of a prison in a small town of the South Coast escaped and the exact circumstance of the escape are not yet known according to spokesman for the National police of Haiti.

The city center of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince was the scene of clashes between the police and hundreds of protesters in working-class neighbourhoods.

AFP said a young man was shot dead at a junction near the presidential palace.

Locals have been raging with frustration over growing social inequalities, aggravated by systemic corruption. </s> Image copyright Reuters Image caption Thousands have taken part in protests across Haiti this week

Opposition demonstrators in Haiti have burnt tyres and thrown stones, urging President Jovenel Moise to step down.

At least four people have been killed and dozens injured in four days of protests in the capital Port-au-Prince and other cities.

Many Haitians accuse Mr Moise and other officials of corruption. Thousands have taken to the streets this week.

The unrest has forced mayors in several cities to cancel carnival festivities due in early March.

Mr Moise - who has been in power since 2017 - has called for talks with the opposition, to no avail so far.

Opposition groups called for protests after a court report alleged that officials and former ministers had misappropriated development loans made by Venezuela to Haiti after 2008.

The report also suggested that President Moise had been involved in irregularities.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Caribbean and 60% of the population live on less than $2 (£1.53) a day. </s> At least six people have died in nearly weeklong protests demanding that President Jovenel Moise resign in Haiti, which saw fresh tensions and a major prison break Tuesday.

All 78 detainees at the prison in Aquin, a city of around 100,000 on the south coast of the country's Tiburon Peninsula, escaped around midday, a national police spokesman said.

The exact circumstances of the prison break are unclear, but witnesses said it took place during an anti-Moise demonstration in front of the police station adjoining the penitentiary.

Some 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of the prison, Port-au-Prince also saw clashes between police and hundreds of protesters in working-class neighborhoods.

Thousands of people took to the streets. After police forces dispersed them, some set fire to cars and looted stores to express their mounting frustrations over growing social inequalities worsened by systemic corruption.

A youth was also shot dead at a crossroads near the presidential palace.

The former French colony is in the grip of a political crisis that has seen citizens demonstrate in the capital Port-au-Prince and elsewhere over the last week to demand Moise's resignation.

Barricades have sprung up in some areas of the capital and other cities, with protesters demanding the president answer reports of mismanagement and possible embezzlement of development funds in the impoverished Caribbean nation.

Police only provided a toll after the first day of nationwide protests on February 7, with two killed on the sidelines of the marches. Since then, AFP has counted four other people shot dead.

Amid the degradation in security conditions, the US State Department ordered all minor children of diplomats posted at the American embassy in Haiti to leave the country.

In a statement, the agency also "approved the authorized departure of adult family members and non-emergency US personnel."

Prison conditions in Haiti are considered to be among the most inhumane in the world by human rights groups. Detainees face extremely crowded conditions, poor hygiene, food shortages and a lack of health care.

The justice system is notoriously slow and has been blamed for contributing to the crisis.

In October, an investigation found that three quarters of the 11,839 people imprisoned in Haiti were still waiting for a court ruling -- a delay that has sometimes stretched beyond a decade.

Demonstrators are demanding Moise quit over a scandal centering on the Petrocaribe fund, under which Venezuela supplied Haiti and other Caribbean and Central American countries with oil at cut-rate prices and on easy credit terms for years.

"The president lied to us. These promises of giving us work so we can finally have money to buy food was just bluffing," said Vanel Louis-Paul, who joined protesters demanding change.

"Look, he's been in power for two years and people are starving now more than ever. If Jovenel won't go, we will make the bourgeoisie that supported him suffer so it understands."

Adding to the mounting frustration, investigations have shown that nearly $2 billion from the program were misused.

A report released in January on the misuse of the money also named a company that was then headed by Moise as a beneficiary of funds from a road construction project that never had a signed contract.

During his election campaign, Moise promised "food on every plate and money in every pocket," yet most Haitians still struggle to make ends meet and face inflation that has risen 15 percent since his election.

A mediation group composed of a senior officials from the UN, Brazil and a coalition of Western nations has called on Haiti's politicians to enter dialogue over the crisis, lamenting the loss of life and damage caused by the protests.

While the government has offered no response to the demands of demonstrators, opposition groups have also failed to spell out any concrete solution to the crisis, beyond calling for the president to step aside. </s> Anti-government protests in Haiti have brought thousands to streets and left nine dead and dozens injured this week.

Demonstrators, angry over rising prices and corruption, have demanded that President Jovenel Moise set down.

Protesters have attacked the presidential palace and attempted to block road access to the airport, and, despite calls from the international community for a dialogue, the violence and crisis seem to be escalating.

Al Jazeera’s Manuel Rapalo is in the capital, Port-au-Prince. </s> Hector Retamal / AFP | Demonstrators flee as Haitian Police open fire, during the clashes, in the centre of Haitian Capital Port-au-Prince, February 13, 2019, on the seventh day of protests against Haitian President Jovenel Moise.

The wave of demonstrations against Haiti's President Jovenel Moïse and his government’s mishandling of development funds has left a seventh protestor dead after a week of violent clashes in the Caribbean nation.

Haitians took to the streets of the capital Port-au-Prince’s once again on Wednesday to demand the resignation of the country’s President Jovenel Moïse as tensions continue to mount after a week of demonstrations marked by violent clashes with the police.

According to AFP, a young man died at a crossroads near the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince and a Haitian journalist was wounded by gunshots during crossfire between police and protestors.

The former French colony has been mired in a political crisis since February 7 that has left at least seven people dead and everyday life in the largest towns paralyzed by protests and barricades.

Demonstrators, who come mostly from poor neighbourhoods, are demanding Moïse’s resignation over graft scandals and for failing to tackle widespread poverty.

“This government is seen as incapable of tackling the economic crisis or the corruption,” said Jake Johnston, researcher at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) and author of its Haiti: Relief and Reconstruction Watch blog.

"It's a popular uprising. Haitians are occupying the streets to make it clear that Jovenel (Moïse) has no choice but to resign," said demonstrator Prophete Hilaire, who was marching across the capital. "A government that cannot give its people nourishment and water must step down," he added.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas and one of the poorest in the world, with three-fifths of the nearly 11 million population living below the national poverty line of $2 a day. According to a United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs report in July 2018, some 1.3 million Haitians depend on food assistance.

Each year, thousands of young people flee as illegal migrants, including to nearby Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos islands.

On January 2018, the country earned the unwanted distinction of being included in US President Donald Trump's list of “shithole countries”.

But poverty levels have been exacerbated by plummeting economic conditions in recent years.

“Since 2016, the country has faced a two-digit inflation, the national currency lost half of its value over the course of the last four years. And half of this decline actually happened last year,” Johnston said.

The current demonstrations kicked off when Moïse found himself at the heart of a corruption scandal over the Petrocaribe fund, under which Venezuela supplied Haiti and other Caribbean and Central American countries with oil for years at cut-rate prices and easy credit terms.

Investigations have shown that nearly $2 billion intended for development projects were misused from the program. In January, a report on the case revealed that a company, then headed by Moïse, was a beneficiary of funds from a road construction project. The company never a signed contract, according to the report.

Moïse is not the only Haitian leader to have seen his legitimacy disputed.

According to Johnston, “there is a crisis of legitimacy concerning Haitians politicians who weren’t able to respond to the population’s needs”. Moïse’s case is even worse.

Haiti’s current president only came into power in 2017 after a second poll, the first one having been cancelled over reports of massive fraud. “When the second election took place, less than 20 percent of the voters showed up. Even though no irregularities were found during the second ballot, such turnout rate could never lead to a stable term,” Johnston added.

Although many protestors have been killed in the current turmoil, Moïse and his prime minister have remained dead silent. Neither has reacted to the latest events, despite the violence sometimes breaking out only a few metres from the presidential palace.

FRANCE 24’s Amélie Baron reported from Port-au-Prince that “no solution has been put forward for now. But the authorities will have to take decisions, because the anger of the people is only growing”.

“Ignoring once again the people’s legitimate demands is a guarantee that the crisis will last a long time,” Johnston agreed.

“Authorities seem to blame the turmoil on a political opposition willing to seize power. They presume that it will run short of money and the movement will then cool down and the country will be calm again.”

Authorities are also counting on October 2019’s legislative elections to ease the tension. But “it would be very naive to think that these elections alone can solve this crisis,” said Johnston.

Even a political dialogue with the opposition might not help, for “there is not even one credible leader who is in position to control the demonstrators by himself”, Johnston noted, adding that there will only be progressive talks when “civil society” takes its place at the negotiating table.

This article was adapted from the original in French by Henrique Valadares.
The death toll rises to 9 as protesters ask for Jovenel Moïse to step down as president of Haiti. The protest started February 7.