UN evacuation to Haiti, police attack on the stronghold of the leader of the “Barbecue” gang | United Nations News

The United Nations has ordered the evacuation of its staff from Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, as clashes between armed gangs, police and civilians wielding machetes escalate in recent days.

On Monday, a UN helicopter flew evacuees – 14 people each – from the capital to the northern city of Cap-Haitien, with some of them expected to fly out of the country. This followed the closure of Port-au-Prince’s main international airport due to gunfire from commercial aircraft as they landed and took off earlier this month.

Diplomatic and security sources told Al Jazeera that the airlift also covers foreign embassies and other aid agencies.

A U.S. Air Force C-130 plane landed at an airport in the capital Port-au-Prince on Sunday to transport U.S. diplomats who had been ordered to leave the U.S. embassy, ​​U.S. Southern Command said.

Most foreign embassies are now virtually closed, with staff limited to a few senior officials and security officials.

In a statement, the UN said it was “adapting its operations” with some staff moving to safer parts of the country and others leaving Haiti but continuing to work remotely.

“The UN is not abandoning Haiti. Our commitment to the Haitian people remains unwavering,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said in a statement.

“We are temporarily reducing our presence in the capital,” he added. “We continue to provide critical humanitarian programs in Port-au-Prince, as well as support to the people and authorities of Haiti.”

Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, also announced late last week that it was suspending intensive care in Port-au-Prince after accusing police of attacking staff and patients, including threats of rape and death.

“Every day that we cannot resume operations is a tragedy because we are one of the few providers of a wide range of health services that have remained available in this extremely difficult year,” said Christophe Garnier, MSF mission director in Haiti.

Food for the Poor (FFTP), which runs feeding programs in Haiti, said it is no longer able to deliver food regularly due to gang disruptions, noting airport closures and gang roadblocks make access to major seaports is “extremely dangerous”.

While police “made every effort to respond to gang advances,” FFTP Haiti director Mario Nicoleau expressed concerns about access to fuel for food trucks. “There are still queues for fuel at gas stations, but the situation seems to be getting better. Shootings are still occurring daily in several areas and people are still being pushed out of neighborhoods,” he added.

“Important operations” against gangs

The U.N.-backed 430-member security mission, made up mostly of Kenyan police, sent in June to support police staffing shortages in Haiti has defended its role in the face of public criticism over its “management of the current security situation amid an apparent increase in gang activity “.

In a message on X on Sunday, the International Security Assistance Mission in Haiti (MSS) said “important operations” were underway. in a gang stronghold in the Delmas area of ​​D.C., controlled by notorious gang leader and former cop Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier. The gang leader later appeared on social media to say he had “suppressed” the police attack and remained at large.

Recent events in Haiti have many Haitians questioning the role of the MSS and how it is handling the current security situation amid a marked increase in gang activity.

MSS remains steadfast in its mission to support the Haitian National Police (HNP) in combating gangs,… pic.twitter.com/NuL3qWJkpf

— Multinational Security Assistance Mission in Haiti (@MSSMHaiti) November 24, 2024

Lionel Lazarre, deputy spokesman for Haiti’s national police, did not respond to messages seeking comment.

The UN estimates that at least 220 people, including 115 gang members, were killed in more than a dozen coordinated attacks that took place between November 11 and 19, aimed at forcing the government to resign, according to a confidential UN situation report obtained by Al Jazeera.

According to the International Organization for Migration, an estimated 20,000 people were forced to flee their homes in the second week of November alone. In total, more than 4,500 people have died in Haiti this year, according to the UN. Another 700,000 people were displaced by violence last year.

Children recruited

Gangs in Haiti have recruited unprecedented numbers of children, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday, underscoring a deepening protection crisis on the violent Caribbean island.

In reportUNICEF reported that recruitment of minors increased by 70 percent last year.

Uncertain future

The government of Haiti, supported by the United States and other Caribbean countries, is calling on the UN Security Council to agree to send a full-scale peacekeeping operation to Haiti. They argue that the Kenya-led MSS does not have the equipment or numbers to make a difference and remains well below the 2,500 personnel originally budgeted for the mission.

“This is not another wave of uncertainty; this is a dramatic escalation that shows no signs of abating,” Miroslav Jenca, UN deputy secretary-general for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, said last week at a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss peacekeeping proposals.

However, Russia and China oppose the UN peacekeeping mission, accusing the United States of not listening to Haitian civil society and saying efforts should be focused on strengthening the Haitian police.