Haiti’s government has urged foreign states to send a “specialized armed force” to the island to help quell demonstrations and unrest, weeks after protesters and roving street gangs occupied a major port hoping to force the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

A decree signed by the PM and published on Friday called on Haiti’s international partners to provide “immediate deployment” of troops to stop “the insecurity resulting from the joint actions of armed gangs and their sponsors.”

“It is imperative to restart activities to avoid a complete asphyxiation of the national economy,” the document continued, citing the “risk of a major humanitarian crisis” thanks to serious shortages of vital goods like water and fuel.

Haiti has been gripped by unrest since last month, when large groups of demonstrators descended upon the country’s primary fuel terminal to protest a recent cut to government gas subsidies. Since then, protesters and gang members – some of them armed – have effectively blockaded the port, crippling distribution while forcing the closure of countless businesses and other institutions, including three-quarters of Haiti’s hospitals, according to the United Nations.

The island’s electric grid is notoriously unreliable, leaving many to rely on diesel generators for power.

called for a “humanitarian corridor” through the capital city of Port-au-Prince to allow health centers to reopen.

“we remain extremely concerned about the security situation in Haiti, the impact it's having on the Haitian people, on our ability to do our work, especially in the humanitarian sphere.”

The United States sent a small Marine detachment to the island in the wake of the assassination to secure the American embassy. It’s unclear whether the Joe Biden administration will authorize another deployment, with Washington so far offering no formal response to Henry’s request for troops.