Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced on Tuesday the suspension of its operations in the Haitian capital due to “violence and threats” against its staff from members of the police.

In a statement, MSF said police repeatedly stopped its vehicles and directly threatened staff with death and rape.

“We are used to working in conditions of extreme insecurity in Haiti and elsewhere, but when even law enforcement becomes a direct threat, we have no choice but to suspend our projects,” said Christophe Garnier, MSF head of mission in Haiti.

MSF said its operations in Port-au-Prince and the adjacent metropolitan area will be suspended from Wednesday and “until further notice.”

Deadly attack on an MSF ambulance last week

This follows a deadly attack on one of its ambulances last week, in which two patients were shot and killed.

In one of the recent incidents, the NGO said an armed plainclothes officer threatened to start executing and burning staff, patients and ambulances starting next week.

“Every day that we cannot resume our activities is a tragedy, as we are one of the few providers of a wide range of medical services to remain open during this extremely difficult year,” the NGO said in a message online.

“However, we can no longer continue to operate in an environment where our staff are at risk of being attacked, raped, or even killed!”

Meanwhile, police and civilian vigilante groups killed 28 suspected gang members in Port-au-Prince on Tuesday in an overnight operation, burning their bodies in the streets with tires piled on top of them.

Three quarters of the capital’s medical establishments closed

Haiti’s capital has been in a state of emergency since March 2024 after gangs took control of much of the city through violence.

MSF, present in the country for three decades now, is one of the main providers of free health care in this violence-hit city. It operates several trauma centers and a burn clinic.

Last month, the UN estimated that only 24% of the city’s health facilities remained open.

MSF said the suspension excludes five patients already hospitalized under its responsibility. She will also direct her mobile clinics and maternal health activities in the south, in Port-à-Piment, he said.

Survivor of gang violence in Haiti: ‘I have lost hope’

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mk/msh (Reuters, AFP)