Dominican Republic To Seal Dajabon Border With Haiti
The Dominican Republic will seal its border with Haiti in its northern Dajabon province if a conflict over access to water from a shared river is not resolved in the coming days, a government spokesperson said.
Speaking at a press conference, the Dominican president insisted a final decision on the possible border closure would not come until Thursday, adding new visas for Haitians would also be suspended.
Report says Dajabon is one of the few remaining functioning borders between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which has been tightening its border security amid worsening gang warfare in Haiti.
Meanwhile, construction work on a canal diverting water from the Massacre River was launched unilaterally by Haitians without government support, the statement said, accusing its neighbor of a treaty violation.
The Dominican government statement pinned the blame for the conflict on Haitian authority’s inability to reign in powerful gangs it cannot control, citing Port-au-Prince’s own admissions.
“There is no doubt that this unilateral project is promoted by Haitian agents with the intention of harming their own government and generating a conflict with our country,” the statement added.
The Haitian government has not officially commented on the Dominican government’s statement.
Dominican Republic President, Luis Abinader lamented that Haitian officials cannot make enforcible decisions while stressing that his country’s military will ensure security at the border.
“The border is reinforced and will be reinforced even more,” he said, adding that Dominican officials will not negotiate with Haitian gangs.
Santo Domingo, which first ordered the border closure in a preliminary move last week, said it will seek talks with Haiti to find a “definitive solution.”
The U.S. Embassy in Haiti late last month urged citizens to leave “as soon as possible” citing security and infrastructure challenges. At the same time, the United Nations says the escalating gang turf war has displaced around 200,000 people and left some 5.2 million half the population in need of humanitarian aid.
REUTERS/Christopher Ojilere
