The Dominican Republic’s president introduced Thursday that he would shut all borders with neighboring Haiti starting Friday morning over a feud a few Haitian canal that might use water from a river alongside their shared border.
Air, sea and land borders are set to shut at 6 a.m. native time on Friday and can stay blocked “till obligatory,” President Luis Abinader stated. The Dominican Republic additionally deployed 20 armored automobiles to a navy camp on the border.
“Sadly, they left us no different however to take drastic measures,” Abinader informed reporters throughout a information convention on Thursday. “We now have been ready for weeks, not just for this example but in addition for a potential peace drive in Haiti.”
The choice got here after Haitian and Dominican officers held talks on Wednesday and Thursday to attempt to come to a decision. These talks are set to proceed.
The dispute is over the excavation of a canal by a farming group in Haiti that might use water from the Bloodbath River, which runs alongside the border that the 2 nations share.
The Dominican president has accused Haiti of making an attempt to divert water from the shared river and stated it might affect Dominican farmers and the setting.
Haiti’s authorities responded, saying it has the suitable to make use of the shared river, consistent with a 1929 treaty.
The federal government stated it “will take all obligatory measures to guard the pursuits of the Haitian folks.”
Work on the canal had been paused for the reason that assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise in July 2021, however building has since resumed, in line with the Worldwide Disaster Group.
The Dominican Republic final totally closed its border with Haiti following Moise’s assassination.
Relations between the 2 nations, which share the island of Hispaniola, have grown more and more fraught in recent times, together with over border safety and the therapy of Haitian migrants and asylum-seekers, a lot of whom are fleeing lethal gang violence in Haiti.
Because the impending closure was introduced, tons of of Haitians have returned from the Dominican Republic.
In a press release, the U.S. embassy in Haiti stated Americans seeking to cross the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic must make different plans. The U.S. authorities discourages American citizens from traveling to Haiti as a result of security dangers.
Neither the Dominican Republic nor Haiti’s Washington embassies instantly replied to VOA’s emails requesting remark.
Some data on this report got here from The Related Press and Reuters.
