Haiti – Gang Violence (DG ECHO, MSF, media) (ECHO Daily Flash of 23 August 2022)

Gangs continue to operate with widespread impunity, violating humanitarian and protection principles, in the metropolitan area of Port au Prince where violence is soaring since April 2022.

On Sunday 14 August 2022 armed men broke into a hospital in Carrefour, the south metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince. They seized a patient from the emergency room managed by the INGO Medecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and fatally shot him outside.

MSF has called on the armed parties in Haiti to respect wounded, medical staff, facilities and ambulances, adding that if other violent incidents occurred the organisation would be forced to temporarily close the facility to assess the situation.

The ICRC has expressed dismay for the incidents of armed violence affecting the medical mission in Port au Prince: “Patients and the medical mission must be respected in all circumstances. Providing and receiving healthcare services must be respected and protected in any circumstance. “