By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Worthy News) – The humanitarian medical organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says it is “heartbroken” to suspend its operations in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, for the first time in three decades due to deadly violence.
MSF, also known as “Doctors Without Borders,” made the decision after the alleged killing of two patients they were treating by Haitian police officers.
The incident took place last week as violence continued to worsen in the country.
MSF said that on November 11, one of its ambulances carrying three young men with gunshot wounds was stopped by Haitian law enforcement officers.
Apparently supported by a paramilitary self-defense group, the men attacked the vehicle, removed two of the patients, took them outside the hospital grounds, and executed them.
The humanitarian group denounced the violence in a strongly worded statement last week, saying their personnel had been tear-gassed and held against their will for several hours.
While that incident appears to have been the final straw for MSF in Port-au-Prince, it was not the only recent example of extreme aggression against their staff.
DOZENS KILLED
An estimated 25 people were killed in Port-au-Prince on Tuesday alone in what police say was a foiled attempt at a gang invasion of a wealthy neighborhood.
Politically, the situation also remains critical, with interim Prime Minister Garry Conille fired this month by the country’s ruling council – less than six months after he took office.
Christians are among those suffering as well in the violence-ridden Caribbean nation. Several missionaries and clergy are known to have been kidnapped and killed, often by violent gangs.
Earlier this year, a U.S. missionary couple Natalie Lloyd, 21, and her 23-year-old husband David and Jude Montis, a 20-year-old Haitian, were killed by gunmen as they left a church.
In a similar incident in 2021, 17 North American missionaries were kidnapped and held east of Port-au-Prince.
Five were released, and 12 ultimately escaped by using stars to navigate through dense bush.
Missions in Haiti for which the killed couple worked has been operating in the country since 2000 and is primarily focused on helping Haitian children.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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