Neighborhoods in the north of the Haitian capital were still plagued on Wednesday by clashes between armed groups. A medical center and a Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) hospital were forced to suspend their activities and evacuate their staff. Haiti, the poorest country in the Caribbean, is ravaged by gang violence characterized by bloody attacks, kidnappings, and rapes, in a situation that continues to deteriorate.
“Houses were looted and set on fire. Several shops and schools were vandalized,” Fritznel Pierre, head of a human rights organization, described on Wednesday, May 13, on local radio station Magik 9, regarding armed violence that broke out on Sunday in northern Port-au-Prince. “We have never had so many gunshot wounds in such a short time,” explained Sarah Chateau, head of operations for Médecins Sans Frontières in Haiti.
Areas in northern Port-au-Prince remained gripped by clashes between armed groups despite the deployment of several police units to secure them, a police source told Agence France-Presse (AFP). This surge in violence led to the displacement of around 5,300 people in the span of three days, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
A rain of “stray bullets”
Due to the critical situation, a medical center and an MSF hospital had to halt operations. “We received a huge number of gunshot victims. The Fontaine Hospital, due to the proximity of the fighting, evacuated and transferred its patients to us. Every time we opened the gates to receive patients, members of the local population rushed inside,” Sarah Chateau told AFP. The MSF official described a “stressing” evacuation carried out as “stray bullets were raining down.” “We weren’t any safer inside; one of our security guards was struck by a stray bullet,” she explained.
More than 40 people with gunshot wounds were treated in less than twelve hours, confirmed Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is preparing “a collective humanitarian response in an unstable and constantly evolving security context,” Haq stated. A new multinational force against gangs is currently being deployed to replace the under-equipped and under-funded Multinational Security Support Mission. However, at this stage, only a contingent of 400 Chadian soldiers has arrived in Port-au-Prince.
The northern districts of the capital, including Cité Soleil, had already experienced severe clashes in March and April, which caused the displacement of nearly 8,000 people according to UN reports.
