Haitian president’s killing fuels escalating fears, uncertainty

Activists reject pressure to hold elections and urge Haitian-led solution to crisis after Jovenel Moise’s assassination.

Port-au-Prince, Haiti – Following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise early on Wednesday, the Haitian government urged the United States to send in its military to protect infrastructure and establish security so that the Caribbean nation may hold elections in September. But Haitian civil society activists say surging gang violence and increased political instability in the aftermath of Moise’s killing make real elections impossible. Gang violence has displaced more than 15,000 people since early June from populous neighbourhoods around the capital. Homes and businesses have been burned and destroyed, and the main road that connects Port-au-Prince to the southern peninsula has been blocked by armed gangs.