The move targeted around 100 “foreigners, Comorans and Africans”, a member of the group told AFP.

Protests against the economic crisis and illegal immigrants from the Comoros islands have paralysed the island.

Mayotte has been in turmoil since mid-February, with roadblocks, a general strike and protests.

France’s minister for overseas territories, Annick Girardin, has condemned the move, saying “this kind of practice does not exist in a department”.

She urged the population to let the police do their job, adding that security arrangements were already in place.

Why the unrest?

Locals complain that the arrivals of migrants are putting Mayotte’s health, housing and education services under pressure.

Violent clashes between rival gangs at a school sparked anger over spiralling crime which many residents blame on migrants from the non-French Comoran islands.

Ms Girardin visited the island earlier in the week to negotiate with protest leaders, and an agreement seemed to have been reached then.

But they later said they had felt “betrayed” by Ms Girardin’s suggestion that an accord had been reached before they had had a chance to consult with demonstrators.

They announced they were carrying on with their movement, but were willing to hold new talks with government representatives.

French Guiana in South America has experienced a similar influx from Haiti and neighbouring countries in recent years that has also put pressure on under-resourced hospitals and schools.

That led to months-long protests ahead of France’s presidential election last year, which prompted promises of extra security forces and funding.

Is there a health crisis in Mayotte?

About 70% of the 10,000 babies born every year in the island’s only maternity hospital in the main town of Mamoudzou are born to illegal migrants, mainly from the Comoran islands, according to official statistics.

It is said to be one of France’s busiest – to the point that the government is considering declaring the hospital as non-French territory so that children born there do not automatically qualify for French citizenship.

“The truth is we’re suffocating in Mayotte. We can’t access our hospitals anymore. We have to go to Reunion Island or elsewhere for treatment,” Marianne, a protester, told the AFP news agency.

“We can’t give birth in Mayotte anymore because there are too many deliveries. Our safety is at stake.”

Why is Mayotte French?

Mayotte is an island of 250,000 people that is part of the Comoros archipelago off the coast of Africa.

The Comoros was a French colony until 1975 when it declared independence.

But Mayotte opted to remain part of France, voting overwhelmingly in 2009 in favour of becoming an integral part of France, mainly because of the economic benefits associated with becoming French.

In 2011, it became the 101st French department, in accordance with the 2009 referendum.

It is a predominantly Muslim country, and although French is the official language, only about half of the population can read or write it.

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Source: BBC

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The vehicle first knocked over two pedestrians, killing one, French-language media report. The driver then tried to flee the scene.

He rammed the bus into a band of street musicians, leaving dozens dead, according to unconfirmed reports.

Gonaives is located 150km (90 miles) north of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The incident on Sunday left dozens of people injured, who were quickly transported to hospital by the emergency services.

Witnesses gathered at the scene became hostile after seeing the driver attempt to flee, which caused further deaths and injuries, AFP reports, adding that they then tried to set the vehicle alight.

“The bus, the passengers and the driver were all placed into the care of the local authorities”, he added.

The vehicle was travelling to Port-au-Prince when it crashed into a rara parade, a traditional street celebration involving local musicians, in Gonaives, Reuters news agency reports.

It was not immediately clear what caused it to veer off course.

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Source: BBC

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The inmates stole five rifles; a guard and an inmate were killed in an exchange of fire.

The authorities have begun a manhunt for the fugitives with the help of UN peacekeepers stationed in the country.

The Haitian government tweeted that it condemned what it described as a prison mutiny.

“One guard was killed during the incident,” Justice Minister Camille Edouard Junior told Reuters news agency.

“Three prisoner were wounded, including one who died as a consequence of his wounds.”

Eleven escapees have so far been detained, and checkpoints have been set up on roads near the prison.

However, inmates at Arcahaie do not wear prison uniforms, making it easier for them to blend in with the general population.

Haitian prisons are notoriously overcrowded and inmates spend years in pre-trial detention.

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Source: BBC

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Ban Ki-moon said he witnessed a looting incident in Les Cayes, where he promised more aid to Haiti. He also urged countries to donate more.

Officials say more than 1.4 million people urgently need humanitarian help.

There are also fears of a cholera outbreak, with spikes in cases and deaths reported in the south west.

The waterborne disease reached the island via Nepalese UN troops after the deadly earthquake in 2010, causing the deaths of nearly 10,000 people.

Tensions have been high as help has yet to reach many families whose crops and water supplies have been destroyed.

Haitian police and UN peacekeepers used tear gas to disperse a group of 100 residents who attacked humanitarian convoys in Les Cayes on Saturday.

“We understand the impatience and the anger of the population who are waiting for emergency relief. We are doing all we can to facilitate the arrival of the assistance soon as possible,” Mr Ban said.

He flew over areas hit by the hurricane alongside Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles.

“I was very, very sad when we saw the complete devastation. But people the world over stand with you,” the UN chief added.

“We are going to mobilize as many resources and as much medical support as we can to first of all stop the cholera epidemic and second support the families of the victims.”

Some 120,000 homes were either damaged or destroyed when Category Four Hurricane Matthew swept through on 4 October with winds of 145mph (230km/h).

Mr Ban visited a shelter in Les Cayes and told the displaced “kembe fem” in Creole, meaning “hang in there”.

In the town, one of the worst affected by Matthew, the streets have been cleaned and businesses have reopened.

But power, transport and communications links are still difficult in other areas.

Last week, Mr Ban called for a “massive response” to help the country, the poorest in the Americas.

The UN launched an emergency appeal for nearly $120m (£97m) in aid, but just a fraction of it has been raised.

Mr Ban acknowledged there was aid “fatigue”, but urged countries to help Haiti.

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Some 50 people were reported killed in the town of Roche-a-Bateau alone.

The nearby city of Jeremie saw 80% of its buildings levelled. In Sud province 30,000 homes were destroyed.

The hurricane, now a Category Three storm with sustained winds of 120mph (193km/h), is heading towards the US state of Florida.

At 02:00 local time (06:00 GMT) Matthew was still off the Florida coast, centred about 37 miles (60km) east of Vero Beach and was moving north-west at about 14mph (22km/h), the National Hurricane Center said.

Senator Herve Fourcand from southern Haiti told AFP news agency that more than 300 people had died. An unnamed official quoted by Reuters news agency put the death toll at 339.

Hurricane Matthew has pounded the Bahamas after slicing through Haiti and Cuba.

Trees and power lines were reportedly down in the Bahamas but no fatalities were reported.

Most of the deaths in Haiti were in towns and fishing villages around the southern coast, with many killed by falling trees, flying debris and swollen rivers.

The storm passed directly through the Tiburon peninsula, driving the sea inland and flattening homes with winds of up to 230km/h (145mph) and torrential rain on Monday and Tuesday.

The collapse of an important bridge on Tuesday had left the south-west largely cut off.

Non-governmental organisations said phone coverage and electricity were down and people were running out of food and water.

The BBC’s Tony Brown in south-western Haiti said he had seen people trying to cope with the mass destruction on their own, trying to rebuild from the rubble but without the help of the army or police.

Les Cayes resident Jean Joseph described the scene in his town – one of the worst-hit – as “complete devastation”.

“What’s going on right now is a lot of people are walking around,” he told the BBC.

“They have no home. A lot of them – they’re just walking around. I don’t know what they’re going to do.”

Across the country, there were some 350,000 in need of assistance, according to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

A spokesperson for the American Red Cross, Suzy DeFrancis, said the first priority was to get phone networks across the country back up and running.

“We will bring in technology to help do that,” she said.

“We also have warehouses with relief supplies that we will be distributing. Some of the needs that families may have are kitchen kits so they can cook meals, any kind of hygiene kits and then we are most worried about cholera, so we will be helping to distribute aqua tabs to purify the water.”

The US is also sending nine military helicopters to help deliver food and water to the hardest-hit areas.

The country is one of the world’s poorest, with many residents living in flimsy housing in flood-prone areas. Four people also died in the storm in the neighbouring Dominican Republic on Tuesday.

Meanwhile in the US, evacuation orders have been issued for areas covering some three million inhabitants.

In Florida, heavy rains and high winds lashed the Miami area overnight. Some 200,000 homes and businesses have been left without power in the state already.

Sustained winds could reach 130mph, with gusts of up to 160mph, with rainfall of up to 15in (38cm).

Governor Rick Scott said: “Think about this: 11ft (3.3m) of possible storm surge. And on top of that, waves. So if you are close, you could have the storm surge and waves over your roof.”

Orlando’s theme parks, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld, are shut.

Why Haiti is vulnerable to disasters

More than half of Haiti’s city-dwellers live in overcrowded shantytowns that take the full force of any earthquake, hurricane, or disease outbreak. An ongoing cholera epidemic, triggered by the arrival of UN troops after the 2010 earthquake, has killed thousands of people.

Massive deforestation has also led to soil erosion, leaving hillside huts and poorly-built houses in the capital, Port-au-Prince, dangerously exposed. In rural areas, topsoil used for agriculture is often washed away.

Political instability and corruption have been a factor. Without effective government for decades, Haiti currently ranks 163rd out of the 188 countries on the UN Human Development Index. It spends little on storm defences.

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Source: BBC

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The destruction wrought by Hurricane Matthew has forced Haiti’s presidential election this weekend to be postponed, officials say.

Thousands have been displaced and at least 10 people have died.

The US states of Florida and South Carolina are bracing for the storm, which is nearing the Bahamas.

All air and sea traffic has been halted on the islands and people have been urged to move to higher ground.

Matthew is currently a Category Three storm, but is expected to strengthen to Category Four as it hits the US coast, the US National Hurricane Center said.

It battered a remote area of Haiti – one of the world’s poorest countries, with many residents living in flimsy housing in flood-prone areas – with winds of up to 230km/h (145mph) on Tuesday.

Officials said they were not yet in a position to gauge the true extent of the damage – particularly in the Grand Anse area on the southern tip of the island, which was directly in the storm’s path.

A key bridge has been destroyed, roads are impassable and phone communications are down, officials said.

Trees fallen, banana crops uprooted and flattened, houses under water and men and women trying to get the debris out of the way.

It was noticeable how the people we passed were coping alone. There were no army or police around to help. Even the aid agencies are struggling to move around this damaged corner of the country.

A man carries a woman across a river at Petit Goave where a bridge collapsed during the rains of Hurricane

Mourad Wahba, the UN special representative for Haiti, said at least 10,000 people were in shelters and hospitals were overflowing.

“What we know is that many, many houses have been damaged,” Interior Minister Francois Anick Joseph said.

“Some lost rooftops and they’ll have to be replaced, while others were totally destroyed.”

Among the damaged buildings were schools and churches due to be used as polling stations in Haiti’s election. A new date for the much-delayed vote has not yet been announced.

Flight from Florida

At least 16 people are believed to have been killed by Hurricane Matthew so far, including four killed by collapsing walls and mudslides in the Dominican Republic.

In Cuba, dozens of homes in the eastern city of Baracoa were destroyed.

In the US, President Barack Obama warned that the coming days would be dangerous and urged Americans to heed official advice.

Residents in Florida are preparing for the storm’s predicted arrival

Florida Governor Rick Scott said his state could be facing its biggest evacuation ever.

South Carolina’s Governor Nikki Haley said 250,000 people would be evacuated from coastal areas.

Map showing the world’s seven tropical cyclone basins and what the storms that form there are called – 23 October 2015

Category one: sustained winds of 74-95mph (119-153 km/h); some damage and power cuts

Category two: winds of 96-110mph (154-177 km/h); extensive damage

Category three: winds of 111-129mph (178-208 km/h); well-built homes suffer major damage

Category four: winds of 130-156mph (209-251 km/h); severe damage to well-built homes, most trees snapped or uprooted

Category five: winds of 157 mph (252 km/h) or higher; high percentage of homes destroyed, area uninhabitable for weeks or months

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Source: NOAA/BBC

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The strongest hurricane in the Atlantic in almost a decade is expected to hit Haiti and Jamaica on Monday, the US National Hurricane Center says.

Residents have been frantically stocking up on emergency supplies..

Jamaica’s PM has urged citizens to make all preparations before it is too late.

But Andrew Holness told Reuters news agency that the country was prepared for the category four hurricane.

In Jamaica, the powerful storm is expected to bring up to 64 cm (25 inches) of rain, which could trigger life-threatening landslides and floods, according to forecasters.

In the capital Kingston, supermarkets were crowded with people looking for canned foods, water and flashlights.

Officials have warned the high winds could batter Jamaica’s main tourist areas including Montego Bay in the north.

In Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, residents from outlying islands have been evacuated, and officials have banned boating.

The hurricane is expected to cause up to 101 cm (40 inches) of rain there.

Matthew is expected to hit Cuba on Tuesday, potentially hitting the colonial city of Santiago de Cuba and the US Navy base of Guantanamo Bay.

A mandatory evacuation of non-essential personnel, including about 700 family members of military personnel, was underway at the base and everyone remaining there was being told to take shelter, the Navy said in a statement.

There are about 5,500 people living on the base, including 61 men held at the detention centre.

Cuban President Raul Castro travelled to Santiago to supervise preparations.

Matthew is the strongest storm in the region since Hurricane Felix in 2007. It briefly reached the top category five on a scale of intensity, before weakening slightly.
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Source: BBC

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