PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC—The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says humanitarian assistance is being delivered to people in Port-Au-Prince despite the tense and volatile situation in the capital of the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that from March 8-14, nearly 17,000 people have left the capital.
The deputy spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, said more than those people are heading towards the Grand Sud departments.
He added, “Our colleagues tell us that this region already hosts more than 116,000 people who have fled the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince in recent months.”
His statement comes as at least ten people were reported to have died in a wealthy suburb of the capital on Monday, amid reports of looting and thefts of electricity equipment as lawlessness spread to affluent areas and gangs tightened their grip on the city. The EDH electricity service said several stations had been attacked, and cables, batteries, and documents were stolen.
Media reports said that the bodies, some of which had bullet wounds, were discovered in the streets of upscale Petion-Ville on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.
There were also reports of gunfire and looting on Monday in the nearby area of Laboule.
Haq said the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that one of its containers was looted at Port-au-Prince’s main port last Saturday.
He said the container held essential items for maternal, neonatal, and child survival. These included resuscitators, critical supplies for early childhood development and education, and water equipment.
“Our colleagues from UNICEF condemned the looting and emphasized that depriving children of vital health supplies amidst a collapsing healthcare system is a violation of their rights,” he said, adding, “With more than 300 containers belonging to UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Port-au-Prince, discussions continue with port and state authorities to secure them”.
He said that the World Food Programme (WFP) has delivered 115,000 hot meals to people displaced in the capital since early March.
“On the health front, the Hôpital Universitaire la Paix, the only public hospital in Port-au-Prince with the capacity to treat trauma, continues to operate with support from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization. The hospital has activated its mass casualty plan to increase its capacity to receive more patients,” Haq said.
The IOM, in a new survey, says that, in addition to creating displacement within the capital area, attacks and insecurity are pushing more and more people to leave the capital to find refuge in provinces, taking the risk of passing through gangs-controlled routes.
Earlier this month, Guyana’s President and CARICOM chairman, Dr. Irfaan Ali, told reporters that an agreement had been reached that would allow for Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry, who is stranded in Puerto Rico, to step down and for a transitional governance arrangement “which paves the way for a peaceful transition of power, continuity of governance and action plan for near term security and the road to free and fair elections.”
Ali said that it was also agreed that a transitional presidential council would be created comprised of seven voting members and two voting observers.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said the council’s membership could be finalized “very soon,” and an update could come later this week.
However, local media reports that the Catholic Church here would not participate in the council to maintain a “moral distance,” although it was quoted as saying that it hoped all sectors would seek a resolution to the crisis.
The Pope calls for support for a peaceful transition
Last Sunday, Pope Francis called for restoring constitutional order in Haiti.
“I invite all the political and social actors to abandon any personal interest and to engage in a spirit of solidarity in the pursuit of the common good, supporting a peaceful transition to a country that, with the help of the international community, may be equipped with solid institutions capable of restoring order and tranquillity among its citizens,” he added.
and then 