UNITED NATIONS, Oct 22, CMC – The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Tuesday warned that repeated attacks by armed groups targeting the neighbourhoods of Solino, Fort National, and Delmas 24 in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area are having a devastating impact on civilians.
The Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, told reporters that OCHA has reported that since October 17, several people have reportedly been killed in these areas, including a child who was shot.
“Others have been injured in the attacks, but limited access means that it is extremely difficult to evacuate those who need medical care. In addition, houses have been looted or set on fire and the violence has forced more than 4,200 people to flee in search of safety.”
Haq said that aid organizations are assessing the situation and coordinating efforts to respond once access allows.
He quoted humanitarian partners as saying that in addition to medical care, people affected by the attacks urgently need food, infant formula, water, blankets, clothes and hygiene kits.
“OCHA is deeply concerned about the risk of violence spreading to other neighbourhoods in the capital, including the Petionville residential area, which would only deepen the humanitarian crisis in Port-au-Prince.”
Haq said that the UN Security Council members will later on Tuesday be briefed on the situation in Haiti by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, María Isabel Salvador, and UNICEF’s Executive Director, Catherine Russell.
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