Affected by a serious political, security and humanitarian crisis and gang pressure, Haiti, and Port-au-Prince in particular, experienced Friday 1.er March, another day of stress.
The gangs, united under the label “Living Together”, have been carrying out coordinated attacks in the capital since Thursday, targeting strategic locations such as civil prisons, the international airport and police buildings. At least four police officers have been killed and dozens injured since the tension began.
On Thursday, a powerful gang leader claimed to have acted “Farewell Prime Minister Ariel Henry”. The latter is not in Port-au-Prince: it signed an agreement in Nairobi on Friday to send Kenyan police officers to the island as part of an international mission backed by the United Nations aimed at combating criminal gang violence. A plague in the country.
At the site, around ten police officers protested in front of their general management premises, demanding that everything possible be done to recover the bodies of their four colleagues who were killed on Thursday. Streets in Port-au-Prince were blocked by barricades of burning tires on Friday.
Humanitarian activities are at risk
Counting of wounded in hospitals begins. A source at the State University of Haiti Hospital, one of the capital’s largest public hospitals, said no fewer than 25 wounded people had been received on Thursday.
At the two Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) centers located in Tabarre and Cité Soleil districts, if admission figures are stable, at least fifteen per day, “The injured now come from everywhere. No more quiet zones »Mumuza Muhindo, the NGO’s head of mission, told Agence France-Presse (AFP). “It is becoming difficult for our staff to access our centres”he added.
The humanitarian community is also concerned about the supply of medicines. “We have containers stuck at customs. We couldn’t get them out (Thursday) Because of difficulties. If the situation remains as it is, it will become difficult to continue our activities.”He warned.
At Toussaint-Louverture international airport, flights to the United States and the Dominican Republic resumed on Friday, despite the shooting nearby, a source close to the airlines told AFP. faced “heavy fire” And “Traffic Disruptions” Near the airport, the American embassy announced on its website that it would disrupt transportation between its facilities and the airport.
