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

Gang violence is rising at alarming rates in Haiti: tens of thousands of people have been forced from their homes and critical supply chains have collapsed. Despite the increasing danger, the UN has committed to staying in the country and helping the most vulnerable people recover from the current crisis.

Armed gangs are reportedly expanding their areas of operation, taking control of new neighborhoods and further isolating communities. This is despite the deployment of the UN Security Council-backed Multinational Security Assistance (MSS) mission, which is prepared to bolster the national police force as it struggles to maintain peace, struggling with a severe lack of resources.

20,000 PEOPLE WERE DISPLACED IN FOUR DAYS

On Wednesday, Ulrika Richardson, Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, briefed UN reporters on the dire situation, noting the closure of the airport as gangs opened fire on and attacked commercial airliners and the increase in killings in recent days: more than four. More than 20,000 people in the Port-au-Prince region have fled their homes in search of safety and shelter.

In a separate briefing, Miroslav Jenča, the UN’s head of peace operations in the Americas, said the gangs had “besieged 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, which hosts international staff, UN offices and diplomatic structures previously deemed relatively safe.

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

The healthcare charity, which routinely operates in the world’s most dangerous conflict zones, announced that its operations in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area are suspended until further notice following an attack on one of its ambulances, killing at least one patient. .

FOOD AND HEALTH AID WORKS CONTINUE

However, the institutions and organizations of the United Nations System operating in Haiti are finding it difficult to insist that they are committed to remaining in the country.

“In fact, our humanitarian operations have been ongoing since the beginning of this escalating crisis,” Ms. Richardson said. “We provided thousands of meals, health and psychosocial care, and clean water.” The senior UN official added that a UN helicopter used to transport humanitarian supplies affected by the airport closure had resumed flights between Cap Haitien and Port-au-Prince.

TWO MILLION HOT MEALS

Since the beginning of this year, the World Food Program (WFP) has distributed more than two million hot meals. This weekend alone, despite the risks, WFP and partners managed to deliver a record amount of almost 38,000 hot meals in a single day to Port-au-Prince and the nearby town of Arcahaie.

But WFP’s assistance is not limited to the region around the capital. The agency and its partners provide daily meals to more than 430,000 school children, 70 percent of which are prepared entirely with locally grown ingredients. Within the scope of efforts to create a social security network, cash transfers are being made to approximately 97,000 people.

The UN migration agency, IOM, also continues its operations in Haiti, keeping migrant protection centers open and providing life-saving assistance through mobile medical clinics, rent subsidies for displaced people, protection of services, psychological support, and water distribution to displaced areas. and we provide support at border crossings. (UN)