As violent gangs expand control in Haiti, the UN vows to stay the course

Armed gangs are expanding their area of operations, taking control of additional neighborhoods and further isolating communities. This despite the deployment of a UN Security CouncilThe Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) supported by -, set up to strengthen the national police force, which is struggling to keep the peace while facing a severe lack of resources.

Some people who fled their homes in Haiti are now living in schools.

20,000 people displaced in four days

On Wednesday, Ulrika Richardson, the humanitarian coordinator in Haiti, informed UN correspondents on the unpleasant situation, noting the closure of the airport due to gangs shooting and hitting commercial planes and an increase in killings in recent days: over a four-day period, more than 20,000 people in Port-au-Prince region fled from their homes in search of safety and shelter.

In a separate briefing, Miroslav Jenča, head of UN peacekeeping operations for the Americas, said the gangs had “surrounded the capital and all access routes” and by some estimates controlled about 85 percent of the capital.

On Monday, they even attacked the suburb of Petion-Ville, home to international staff, UN offices and the diplomatic corps, which was previously considered relatively safe.

If further evidence of the seriousness of the security situation in Haiti was needed, it came in the form of a Tuesday press release issued by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

The medical aid organization, which routinely operates in the world’s most dangerous conflict zones, announced the suspension of activities in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area until further notice following an attack on one of its ambulances, in which the at least one patient was killed. .

Food and health aid operations continue

However, agencies and entities of the United Nations System operating in Haiti have been at pains to insist that they are committed to remaining in the country.

“Our humanitarian operations have continued, in fact, since the onset of this growing crisis,” Ms Richardson noted. “We have provided thousands of meals, medical and psychosocial care and clean water.” The senior UN official added that a UN helicopter used to transport humanitarian supplies, which was affected by the airport closure, has now resumed flights between Cap Haitien and Port-au-Prince.

Since the beginning of the year, the World Food Program in Haiti has distributed more than two million hot meals.

Two million hot meals

Since the beginning of the year, the World Food Program (WFP) distributed over two million hot meals. This weekend alone, despite the risks, WFP and the partners were able to deliver nearly 38,000 hot meals to Port-au-Prince and the nearby city of Arcahaie, a record amount in a single day.

However, WFP aid is not limited to the region around the capital. The agency and partners provide daily meals to more than 430,000 school children, 70% of which are prepared entirely with locally grown ingredients. About 97,000 people are also receiving cash transfers as part of efforts to create a social safety net.

UN agency for migration, IOMis also maintaining its operations in Haiti, keeping migrant protection centers open and providing life-saving assistance through mobile medical clinics, rental subsidies for displaced people, service protection, psychological support, water delivery to displacement sites and support at border crossings.