Haitian police and a vigilante group are accused of executing two patients and attacking staff members of the French medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) after stopping an ambulance in Port-au-Prince this week. The ambulance, carrying three young people with gunshot wounds, was about 100 meters from MSF's hospital in the Drouillard area.
According to the MSF mission, police attempted to arrest the patients and fired shots into the air before escorting the ambulance to Hôpital La Paix in the capital. Once there, the police officers and members of a so-called citizens' self-defense group allegedly surrounded the vehicle, slashed its tires, and tear-gassed MSF staff inside to force them out. The patients were then taken a short distance from the hospital, where at least two were executed, MSF said.
Christophe Garnier, head of the MSF Haiti mission, called the incident a "shocking display of violence" that has raised serious concerns about the safety of their medical teams. "Our teams and our patients need a minimum level of safety to continue providing medical care," he said. MSF staff claimed they were also insulted, threatened with death, and held against their will, while the ambulance was damaged and rendered unusable, as reported by the Miami Herald.
The attack comes amid escalating gang violence in Haiti, which has severely disrupted access to healthcare across the country. MSF, one of the few remaining humanitarian organizations in the country, continues to treat patients in the face of increasing risks.
The violence has worsened lately, forcing the suspension of U.N. humanitarian flights and a 30-day ban on U.S. commercial air travel to Haiti, starting Monday, due to gunfire targeting airlines coming from the United States. Officials reported Monday that a Spirit Airlines flight traveling from Fort Lauderdale was hit by gunfire while attempting to land in Haiti.
Meanwhile, 5.4 million people in Haiti are facing hunger, with some areas experiencing famine-like conditions. Recent reports indicate that nearly 700,000 Haitians have been displaced due to ongoing violence, with over 3,600 people killed since the beginning of the year. This month, a brutal gang attack in central Haiti left at least 70 people dead, including children.
William O'Neill, the U.N.'s independent human rights expert on Haiti, condemned the attack on MSF, calling it a "grave violation of human rights." He urged Haitian authorities to take swift action against those responsible, highlighting the importance of accountability to prevent further violence and impunity.
This is the second reported instance in two months where MSF patients have died after police interference. In September, an MSF ambulance was delayed for over an hour by police, leading to the death of a patient with a critical injury.
As violence escalates across Haiti, the political situation grows increasingly complex. Haiti's ruling presidential council has dismissed Prime Minister Garry Conille just six months into his tenure and appointed businessman Didier Fils-Aimé as his replacement. The decision has sparked controversy within the country's political circles, with critics questioning its legality.
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