Hundreds displaced, medical aid suspended amid sectarian violence in Haiti | Articles of Controversy

Aid group Doctors Without Borders said it has suspended hospital operations due to fear of gunfire.

A new wave of gang violence The Haitian capital has evacuated hundreds of people, prompting aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) to suspend operations in local hospitals.

The group, also known as Doctors Without Borders, said on Monday that around 800 people had fled fighting inside their hospital in the Cite Soleil area of ​​Port-au-Prince before operations were halted.

“At the moment, not a single hospital is open in the area where the fighting is taking place,” MSF said in a statement, adding that although the need for medical care remains high, it cannot guarantee the safety of workers or patients due to gunfire in the area. Another guard was hit by a stray bullet inside the fence.

The struggle between the powerful rebels, who have taken control of the capital of Haiti since the assassination of the President of Haiti. Jovenel Moise in 2021, it has caused that widespread violence and disturbing the common people.

Efforts by the authorities to end the fighting and stop the influence of the terrorist groups have failed.

Another hospital in the region, Hopital Fontaine, told Reuters news agency that it had removed the newborns from the intensive care unit. MSF said it helped some patients who had been evacuated from the hospital, including pregnant women who gave birth overnight.

A foreign military force arrived in Haiti in April as part of a Efforts linked to the United Nationsbut previous interventions did not significantly affect the vulnerability.

“Now I’m sleeping in the street,” Monique Verdieux, 56, told The Associated Press, saying she was afraid to return home after seeing gunmen torching her neighborhood.

Some Haitians displaced by the fighting over the weekend have taken refuge on the road leading to Toussaint Louverture airport.