“More than 313,000 people are displaced across Haiti. More than 1,000 schools in Haiti, including in Port-au-Prince and other urban areas, have been temporarily closed since the middle of last month (January 2024) due to ongoing protests.
P-au-P., February 15, 2024 [AlterPresse] — 9,901 people were displaced, due to the attacks, perpetrated, from Monday February 5 to Tuesday February 13, 2024, by armed gangs in several neighborhoods of the metropolitan area of the capital, Port-au-Prince, particularly in the communes of Carrefour (south of the capital, Port-au-Prince, Cité Soleil (north) and Tabarre (north-east), counted the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in an updated report of which the AlterPresse online agency.
7,261 people were displaced by the attacks in neighborhoods bordering the communes of Cité Soleil and Tabarre as well as 2,640 with those in the commune of Carrefour, specifies the IOM.
“Most of these people (90%) took refuge in areas located in the West department and the others left for the provinces, notably towards Nippes (part of the South-West, 5%) and the Plateau central (3%)”.
The majority (63%) took refuge with host families and 37% in 13 sites, including 3 which already existed before these armed assaults, and 10 newly created, adds the IOM, emphasizing how all 13 sites are located in the metropolitan area of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
“At least 806 people, not involved in the ongoing violent exchanges, were killed, injured or kidnapped in January 2024,” the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on Friday February 9, 2024. Austrian Volker Türk.
“Some 300 gang members were also killed or injured, bringing the total number of people affected to 1,108, more than three times the number recorded in January 2023.”
At least two children killed by bullets – accelerated intensification of armed violence since the start of 2024, warns Unicef
At least two children were shot dead and many others reportedly injured during violence in areas controlled by armed groups in the city center of the capital, Port-au-Prince, over the past weekend , deplores the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in a press release dated Tuesday February 13, 2024.
At least 167 boys and girls were killed or injured by bullets in 2023, recalls Unicef.
The Belgian Bruno Maes, representative of Unicef in Haiti, warns of an intensification, at a rapid pace, of armed violence since the start of 2024.
“Some neighborhoods have become hell for children. Hospitals have once again had to evacuate their patients, including newborns, for fear of being attacked by armed groups.”
170 thousand children displaced by armed violence – increase in sexual violence against children in Port-au-Prince and Artibonite
The number of internally displaced children has reached 170,000, with the rise of armed violence across Haiti.
UNICEF also reports an increase in sexual violence against children, particularly in the metropolitan area of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and in the Artibonite department.
2,701 cases of sexual violence were reported between January and November of 2023, of which 1,895 involved children, reports Unicef, citing data collected from child protection and sex-based violence actors. gender (Vbg).
“Three million children across Haiti will need humanitarian assistance, due to escalating violence, malnutrition, the resurgence of cholera and the collapse of basic services. More than a third of them are in urgent need of protection,” according to Unicef.
New alarm from international organizations on the accelerated intensification of violence by armed gangs
Various international organizations are concerned about the intensification of violence by armed gangs in the metropolitan area of the capital, Port-au-Prince, in statements seen by the online agency AlterPresse.
In a recent statement, the humanitarian coordinator in Haiti, Sweden’s Ulrika Richardson, condemns the intensification of violence in the capital, Port-au-Prince, but also throughout the rest of the country.
Civilians – especially children – are bearing the brunt of recent violence, denounces Ulrika Richardson.
On Monday February 12, 2024, a medical establishment in Port-au-Prince was caught in violent exchanges of fire, according to humanitarian partners on the ground, she reports.
This situation forced the medical establishment to evacuate patients and staff, deplores Richardson, urging to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to allow humanitarian organizations safe and unrestricted access to people in need.
“More than 313,000 people are displaced across Haiti. More than 1,000 schools in Haiti, including in Port-au-Prince and other urban areas, have been temporarily closed since the middle of last month (January 2024) due to ongoing protests.
Prices of basic products, including food products, have increased by up to 25 percent with the armed violence in recent weeks, notes the resident and humanitarian coordinator in Haiti, Ulrika Richardson. [emb rc apr 15/02/2024 10:25]
