The United Nations expressed its deep concern Friday about clashes, which erupted on Monday between armed groups in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince. The fighting affected the neighborhood of Cité Soleil and its surroundings, including hospitals and health centers; there were reportedly many casualties, as well as incidents of sexual violence, the burning of houses and serious human rights violations.
Since the beginning of the week, violent clashes have taken place between gangs in Cité Soleil, resulting in the killing and mutilation of dozens of people. At least 166 people, mainly civilians, were reportedly killed, more than 1,000 people were displaced by the violence.
According to UN sources, the clashes took place in the immediate vicinity of hospitals and health centers, bringing services to a halt and forcing the evacuation of dozens of patients, including women, children and newborns in precarious conditions. An orphanage was also trapped in the midst of the fighting, forcing 58 children to evacuate.
The Hospital de Fontaine was the scene of a gunfight. The fighting disrupted medical services, violating basic humanitarian principles. Caught in the middle of clashes on Wednesday, the Hospital de Fontaine has since closed. All the patients and staff of this hospital have now been transferred to other hospitals in Port-au-Prince, reducing access to medical care in Cité Soleil.
The international humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, Doctors Without Borders) reported Friday that it has treated about 50 people wounded in Cité Soleil since Monday, while other medical services have been forced to close their doors following the violence.
According to the non-governmental organization (NGO), MSF's Cité Soleil emergency hospital is currently the only medical facility capable of treating patients in the area after the closure of the Hospital de Fontaine for an indefinite period.
“Once again, the population is paying a high price during these clashes between armed groups," said Mumuza Muhindo Musubao, MSF head of mission in Haiti.
"Some of the residents are forced to leave their homes to seek shelter. Medical facilities can no longer function normally and sick people can no longer reach them, and risk being left behind.”
Pregnant women, among other patients, now find themselves in a perilous situation as MSF teams in Cité Soleil had most often referred pregnant women to Fontaine Hospital to give birth. Saint Damiens, a maternity center in Port-au-Prince, also closed its doors in late October this year, mainly due to insecurity.
MSF said to limit the risks for staff, patients and structures during these episodes of particularly intense and indiscriminate violence, it was also forced to temporarily close its outpatient clinic and reduce its medical teams in Cité Soleil.
Médecins Sans Frontières reiterated its call to all armed parties to spare the population and respect hospitals and medical facilities, as well as those who work there and are treated there.
In a statement Friday, the acting UN Humanitarian Coordinator Bruno Maes warned the clashes also have had repercussions on several schools, depriving thousands of children of their right to education.
"These acts constitute human rights violations and abuses, particularly those of children, which must be respected by all," he said.
On Thursday, the Humanitarian Coordinator met with families, children and medical staff of this hospital who have evacuated to a safer neighborhood.
"These acts of violence pose a serious threat to people's lives and deprive them of access to essential social services. They hamper the work of humanitarian actors, particularly health workers, who are prevented from providing emergency response to people in need," he added.
“I am deeply outraged by the alarming frequency of attacks on health services, schools and other basic social services, plunging thousands of families and children into fear, uncertainty and unimaginable hardship. Violence against the population must stop, so that Haitians can return to normal lives,” Maes said.
In Haiti, millions of people need humanitarian aid, amid the deteriorating security situation. The UN warns that humanitarian access is seriously compromised by insecurity.
"The population must be protected and have safe access to the infrastructures essential to their survival. Humanitarian personnel and civilian infrastructures, including its staff, are havens of peace and must never be targeted," the Humanitarian Coordinator said.
Violent armed gangs control much of the capital, gain increasing control of Port-au-Prince, and have spread to other parts of the country. They have carried out massacres and kidnappings, human trafficking and sexual violence. The deteriorating security situation has also aggravated the humanitarian crisis, with almost half the population, around 4.35 million people, experiencing acute hunger.
The United Nations estimates that more than 5.2 million people - 46 percent of the population - require humanitarian aid this year. Among those in need are nearly 3 million children – the highest number on record.
Kidnappings, killings and gang violence have worsened the economic situation and increased insecurity, particularly in the capital. An estimated two million people, including 1.6 million women and children, live in areas that are effectively controlled by gangs.
Armed groups commit serious abuses against the population, forcing entire communities to flee. Some 200,000 people have been internally displaced due to violence since 2022, and tens of thousands have attempted to flee the country.
Further information
Full text: Statement by the Interim Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti on the recent violence in Port-au-Prince, 17 November 2023, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, statement, published November 17, 2023
https://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/statement-interim-humanitarian-coordinator-haiti-recent-violence-port-au-prince-17-november-2023
Full text: Haiti: Medical care severely affected by clashes in Cite Soleil, Médecins Sans Frontières, press release, published November 17, 2023
https://prezly.msf.org.uk/haiti-medical-care-severely-affected-by-clashes-in-cite-soleil#