Haitian government may be overthrown by gangs, say Caribbean nations

Haitian authorities already stretched then face a new threat

Gangs are now threatening to take control of Haiti's government, according to a report from the heads of government of the Caribbean Community, or CARICOM, this week

The chairperson of the five-member nation group says criminals are planning to seize power

from the nation's transitional government and warns they are targeting a U.N.-backed

multinational security force led by Kenya, which already faces challenges due to lack of officers and funding

The alert comes as the Trump administration reaffirms its support for the MSS mission

designed to quell rampant gang violence on the island nation. In a statement Sunday, the U.S. State Department condemned any actions to destabilize Haiti's

transitional president council, adding it supports the efforts by the Kenya-led multinational

security mission and CARICOM to assist the government in its efforts to bring peace and

stability to Haiti in the face of armed criminal gangs. Despite the forces and Haitian national police efforts the country gang and humanitarian crisis is worsening As Straight Arrow News recently reported gangs now control more than 90 percent of Haiti capital

and Port-au-Prince is at risk of falling into the hands of criminals at any moment

CARICOM says it strongly condemns any attempt to overthrow Haiti's transitional government

with hope remaining of paving the way for free and fair elections by February of next year

To achieve this, CARICOM is calling on more support for the MSS mission and for the U.N. as well as the United States to facilitate more support for Haitian authorities

U.N. officials are also calling for more support to stop the relentless flow of illegal firearms into the hands of Haitian gangs and amid findings of police corruption, as Straight Arrow News reported last month

CARICOM says more than a million Haitians are now displaced and many face hunger

as well as the threat of disease and violence, adding in the past month

nearly 60,000 Haitians have fled their homes as civil unrest worsens. For more on this story, download the Straight Arrow News app or visit san.com

For Straight Arrow News, I'm Kaylee Carey