Médecins Sans Frontières Suspends Operations in Port-au-Prince Amid Attacks

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), a humanitarian medical organization, has ceased its activities in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, following a violent assault targeting its personnel and the reported killing of two patients under their care by Haitian police officers. This event occurred last week amidst an escalating climate of violence across the nation. Approximately 25 individuals lost their lives solely in Port-au-Prince on Tuesday during what authorities described as a thwarted gang incursion into an affluent district. The political landscape also continues to be critical, as interim Prime Minister Garry Conille was dismissed this month by the nation’s governing council, fewer than six months into his tenure. According to MSF, on November 11, an ambulance transporting three young men suffering from gunshot wounds was intercepted by Haitian law enforcement personnel. The individuals, reportedly backed by a paramilitary self-defense organization, assaulted the vehicle, forcibly removed two of the patients, led them off hospital premises, and executed them. The humanitarian organization condemned the aggression in a forceful statement issued last week, reporting that its staff members had been subjected to tear gas and unlawfully detained for several hours. Although this event seems to have been the decisive factor for MSF’s withdrawal from Port-au-Prince, at least temporarily, it represents one of several recent instances of severe hostility directed at their employees. This announcement coincides with an escalating environment of violence throughout Haiti, including the deaths of approximately 25 alleged gang members in the capital on Tuesday. Authorities stated that local residents assisted officers in repelling an attempted assault on the affluent Pétion-Ville suburb. The district was sealed off after inhabitants erected street barricades, some equipped with machetes and improvised weapons, seemingly to thwart a gang incursion. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.