The humanitarian medical organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has suspended its operations in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince following a violent attack on its staff and the alleged killing of two patients by Haitian police officers.
The incident took place last week at a time when violence in the country continues to escalate.
An estimated 25 people were killed in Port-au-Prince on Tuesday alone in what police say was a botched gang attack on an affluent neighborhood.
Politically, the situation remains critical with the country’s ruling council sacking interim prime minister Gary Connell this month.
MSF says that on November 11, one of its ambulances carrying three young men with gunshot wounds was intercepted by Haitian law enforcement officers.
Apparently with the help of a paramilitary self-defense group, the men attacked the vehicle, removed two patients, took them outside the hospital grounds and executed them.
The humanitarian group condemned the violence in a statement last week, saying its personnel were teargassed and held against their will for several hours.
While this incident was the final straw for MSF in Port-au-Prince, at least for the time being, it was not the only recent example of extreme aggression against their staff.
The announcement comes amid a worsening climate of violence in Haiti, which left 25 suspected gang members dead in the capital on Tuesday.
Police say residents helped officers fight off an attempted attack in the upscale suburb of Pétion-Ville.
The neighborhood was cordoned off as residents barricaded the streets, some armed with machetes and makeshift weapons, apparently in an attempt to stop the gang’s attack.
