The Dominican Republic is enacting a fresh series of border restrictions targeting asylum seekers from Haiti as thousands continue to flee amid political instability and a worsening humanitarian crisis. On Sunday, Dominican President Luis Abinader moved to deploy hundreds of additional soldiers and ordered stepped-up surveillance along the Haitian border. He’s also vowed to expedite the construction of a border wall. Dominican authorities have been repeatedly accused of widespread violence and human rights abuses against Haitians.
This all comes as humanitarian groups continue to raise alarm over spiraling violence in Haiti, with more than 260 people killed during recent gang attacks on two communities in Port-au-Prince, according to a U.N. report published Monday. The report details concerns with Haitian authorities and Kenyan armed forces that were deployed to Haiti, which on one occasion took at least five hours to respond to a gang attack. Haitians have repeatedly taken to the streets to protest the government’s failure to address the security crisis as armed gangs have now seized some 85% of the capital.