More than 50,000 flee Haiti capital after surge in gang violence

Tens of thousands of people have fled the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, to escape a surge in gang violence over the past weeks.

United Nations figures suggest more than 53,000 left between 8-27 March.

The UN is warning that the rural regions to which many have fled are not equipped to deal with such a large influx of displaced people.

Meanwhile, gangs are attacking businesses in the capital, torching pharmacies and vandalising schools.

Haiti’s national police succeeded in repelling an attack on the presidential palace on Monday but armed men stormed the nearby State University of Haiti hospital, known by its initials HUEH, to use it as their command centre. HUEH had closed last month due to the violence and was meant to reopen on Monday. The damage caused by the gangs is likely to further delay its reopening.

Access to healthcare, which was already severely restricted, has become even more difficult after armed men looted a hospital in the Delmas 18 neighbourhood and the Saint-Martin health centre last week.

Criminal gangs control not only the main port in Port-au-Prince but also many of the city’s access roads, making it difficult to transport medical supplies.

Credit: bbc.com

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