MSF suspends operations in Haiti amid fresh wave of violence

The NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Tuesday it is suspending it’s operations in Haiti following a fresh wave of violence.

In an announcement posted on its website MSF said its staff has been threatened by police.

The NGO said that on 11th November an ambulance was attacked resulting in the death of at least two patients and the harassment of staff. They said in the week that followed Haitian police had stopped multiple MSF vehicles and threatened staff with death or rape.

The head of the MSF mission in Haiti said that whilst staff are used to working in difficult conditions “But when forces of law and order become a direct threat we have no other choice but to suspend our activities”.

Gang activity continued on Wednesday with gunshots and smoke coming from burning houses and roadblocks after the latest surge that started earlier this week when gangs launched a new attack on Haiti’s capital, targeting an upscale community in Port-au-Prince where gunmen clashed with residents who fought side by side with police.

Ulrika Richardson, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, said the events of Monday and Tuesday said the gangs intended “to acquire more territory in the capital”.

The attack comes days after gang violence forced Haiti’s main international airport to shut down for the second time this year as the country swore in a new prime minister following political infighting.

The turmoil in Port-au-Prince deepened late Tuesday when Doctors Without Borders announced (MSF) it was suspending critical care across the capital as it accused police officers of violence and threats against its staff, including rape and death.

The aid group will halt patient admissions and transfers to its five medical facilities starting on Wednesday, a blow to a country with extremely limited medical care.

Christophe Garnier, Doctors Without Borders Head of Mission in Haiti, said the organization is committed to providing health care: “We are sorry and deeply concerned by this impact, but we also think here is no other way to stop this violence against us,” said Garnier.

Charles Wilson, a motorcycle taxi driver, voiced concern about the suspension of care by MSF, as less than 30 percent of the hospitals in the country are still operational.

The latest attack was led by the Viv Ansanm group, whose spokesman, Jimmy Chérizier, a gang leader and former elite police officer, had announced the plan in a video posted on social media.

Gang violence has forced more than 20,000 people to flee Port-au-Prince in recent days, according to the U.N. They join more than 700,000 people left homeless in recent years by the violence.