PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) — Prime Minister of Haiti, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, has reiterated his government’s commitment to ensure the free movement of citizens across the country as the Haitian National Police (PNH) on Monday received a batch of 10 armoured vehicles.

“There can be no political stability, economic recovery or social cohesion without the full and complete restoration of republican order,” Fils-Aimé said at a ceremony at the police headquarters where the vehicles, provided by the Government of Canada and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), were handed over.

Fils-Aimé said that the gradual strengthening of the PNH’s material and operational capabilities is part of a comprehensive plan to create the necessary conditions for holding free, inclusive, transparent, and democratic elections.

Fils-Aimè, who assumed leadership of the interim government following the end of the mandate of the Provisional Transitional Council (CPT) on February 7, used the occasion on Monday to appeal to the population to provide support for the police and the military battling criminal gangs bent on overthrowing the interim government.

Haiti has been without an elected head of state since President Jovenel Moise was assassinated at his private residence overlooking the capital, Port-au-Prince, on July 7, 2021.

The donation of the vehicles is part of international support aimed at strengthening the operational capacities of Haitian law enforcement in the context of a precarious and deteriorating security situation.

Canadian Ambassador André François Giroux reaffirmed his country’s unwavering support for efforts to restore security in Haiti.

Earlier this month, the PNH received three tracked armoured fighting vehicles from South Korea, and the latest donation brings the total to 35, including three highly sophisticated tracked armoured vehicles specially adapted for difficult terrain and offensive operations against heavily armed gangs.

The first contingents of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF), which replaces the struggling Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, are expected to arrive in the country in April and its mission is to restore state authority and public order, reduce gang territorial control, secure critical infrastructure, and support the Haitian people as they work toward a return to elected governance and long-term stability.

Meanwhile, the Organization of American States (OAS) said its permanent council will meet on Wednesday in Washington to analyse the evolving political situation in Haiti and receive the progress report from the Secretary General, Albert Ramdin.