United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has called for the immediate deployment of an armed task force to Haiti to ease growing insecurity as the already crisis-hit country is threatened by a cholera epidemic.

In a letter sent to the UN Security Council on Saturday and seen by AFP, Guterres called on member states to deploy a “rapid reaction force” to the Caribbean nation to deal with “a dramatic deterioration in security.”

The letter came a day after Haiti said it had formally asked for international aid because of a deteriorating security situation that national police were unable to overcome.

Haiti, America’s poorest country, is facing an acute political, economic, security and health crisis that has left the country paralyzed and a breakdown in law and order.

Protests and looting have shaken the already unstable country since 9/11, when the government announced a hike in the price of gas.

Since mid-September, the country’s largest fuel import terminal in Varreux has been controlled by powerful armed gangs.

In his letter, Guterres stressed the need to restore security to ensure access to supplies and services, protect transportation infrastructure and oil terminals, and combat rampant gang violence.

“Addressing these goals is imperative for the country to halt its spiraling instability,” he said.

He called for the establishment of a special forces unit from Member States’ armed forces, with the effort being led by a Member State.

Guterres reiterated the call in a public statement Sunday, saying he “remains deeply concerned about the situation in Haiti,” where already dire humanitarian conditions are at risk of being exacerbated by a cholera outbreak.

The United Nations on Thursday warned of a possible explosion in cholera cases in the country after Haiti last week announced its first cholera cases in three years, with at least seven deaths.

On Friday, the UN said at least 12 cholera cases had been confirmed and another 152 suspected cases had been reported, although Ulrika Richardson, UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Haiti, said the real number could be much higher.

Tests were being conducted abroad to determine if it was the same strain of cholera that killed more than 10,000 people from 2010 to 2019.

Guterres said in his statement on Sunday the lockdown at the Varreux terminal has hampered efforts to combat the outbreak, including by hampering the delivery of “critical services needed to prevent the rapid spread of the disease to a halt, including the distribution of potable water.”

“The most vulnerable sectors of the Haitian population are those that are hit the hardest,” he warned.