The Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince continues to be immersed in a spiral of violence triggered by armed gangs, a situation that led the United States to announce this Sunday 10th the withdrawal of part of its embassy employees and the reinforcement of security.
Hospitals under attack, food shortages and blocked infrastructure have led the city to an increasingly precarious humanitarian situation. Saturday 9th was marked by new clashes between the police and gangs.
United States military spokesmen announced this Sunday the carrying out of “an operation to increase security at the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince, allow the continuation of operations” of the diplomatic mission and “the departure of non-essential employees”.
“The airlift of personnel to and from the Embassy is consistent with our standard practice of increased security,” added a statement from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Southern Command.
The US embassy posted on the social network
Confined population
“Residents of the capital live confined, they have nowhere to go”, warned on Saturday Philippe Branchat, head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), describing a “city in a state of siege” and warning that people trying to escape cannot are able to communicate with family and friends in this location “surrounded by armed and dangerous gangs”.
These factions, which control large areas of the capital, as well as the access roads that lead to the rest of the territory, have been attacking police stations, courts and prisons for several days, from which thousands of inmates have escaped.
These groups and a part of the population demand the resignation of Haitian Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, who, according to latest reports, is in Puerto Rico.
Faced with the violence, dozens of residents occupied a public administration office in Port-au-Prince on Saturday to find refuge, an AFP correspondent reported.
“Since last night we haven’t been able to sleep. We fled, me with my things on my mind, not knowing where to go”, said Filienne Setoute, who had to leave her home.
A day earlier, armed men attacked the Presidential Palace and the police station in Port-au-Prince, the general coordinator of the Haitian police union confirmed to AFP. Several attackers were killed, according to the same source.
Insecurity
According to Branchat, “insecurity is about to spread on a national scale: there is violence in Artibonite (northwest), blockades in Cap Haitien (north) and fuel shortages in the south,” he highlighted.
According to the IOM, 362,000 people — of which more than 50% are children — are currently displaced in Haiti, a number that has increased by 15% since the beginning of the year.
The government decreed a state of emergency in the Western department, which includes Port-au-Prince, as well as a nighttime curfew that is difficult to enforce by the police forces, which are overworked.
Given the situation, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) called on representatives from the United States, France, Canada and the UN for a meeting on Monday (11) in Jamaica.
Fome
According to the IOM, hospitals were attacked by gangs and healthcare professionals and patients, including newborns, had to be removed from medical units.
According to the general director of the National Port Authority (APN), Jocelin Villier, the city’s port was looted.
The NGO Mercy Corps warned of the risks to the food supply in the poorest country in America.
“With the closure of the international airport, the little aid that Haiti currently receives may not arrive again,” the agency warned on Thursday. And “if these containers are not accessed, Haiti will soon go hungry.”
If the “shutdown” in Port-au-Prince continues in the coming weeks, “around 3,000 pregnant women are at risk of not having access to essential health care”, warned several UN representatives last week.