The medical organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says at least two of its patients have been killed in Haiti after police and vigilantes attacked their ambulance in the capital Port-au-Prince.
The charity said its staff were transporting three patients with gunshot wounds to the MSF hospital on Monday when they were stopped by authorities and forced to go to a government hospital.
When they arrived, the police and “members of the self-defense group” attacked the car, slashed the tires and pulled out the people inside with tear gas.
The injured patients were then taken out of the hospital premises where “at least two of them were killed”, the charity said.
It was not clear from the MSF statement the condition of the third patient. But the group says its ambulance workers were also beaten in the incident “by the police and members of the self-defense group”.
MSF said the workers were “violently attacked, insulted, kicked with tear gas, threatened with death” and held captive for more than four hours before being released. The cause of the attack is unclear.
“This act is an expression of appalling violence and seriously calls into question MSF’s ability to continue to deliver critical care to the people of Haiti,” said Christophe Garnier, the group’s head of mission in the country.
MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, is one of the last non-governmental humanitarian organizations (NGOs) still working in Haiti, where violent unrest has engulfed the capital.
Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, armed gangs have taken over in many areas, leading to street violence in the poorest country in the Americas.
A UN Security Council meeting last month heard that gangs had gained control of 85% of the capital.
More than 3,600 people have been killed in Haiti since January and more than 500,000 have had to leave their homes, according to the UN.
The UN has sent an international police mission to Haiti, made up mostly of Kenyan police. This mission is said to have found important places in the capital including the national hospital, the port and the airport.
However, several US airlines have grounded flights this week after three planes were hit by gunfire approaching or departing from the airport this week.
A new prime minister was sworn into office in Haiti earlier this week. Alix Didier Fils-Aimé said his priority is to “restore security” in the country.
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