Police officers ride with detained Haitian nationals to a migration clearance centre to verify their papers as the government is stepping up deportations, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic November 15, 2022.
Raul Asencio/Courtesy by Listin Diario/via REUTER0/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSANTO DOMINGO/PORT-AU-PRINCE, Sept 11 (Reuters) - 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 on Monday.
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, deporting tens of thousands who fled the crisis.
The Dominican Republic will completely close off the border to land, maritime and air commerce if the conflict is not resolved by Thursday, Dominican authorities said in a statement, adding new visas for Haitians would also be suspended.
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."
Persons:
Raul Asencio, Rights SANTO, Dajabon, Santo, Paul Mathiasen, Harold Isaac, Sarah Morland, Valentine Hilaire, Grant McCool
Organizations:
Police, Listin Diario, Rights, PORT, Santo Domingo, Thomson
Locations:
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Rights SANTO DOMINGO, Haiti, Dajabon, Haitian, Port