Ambulance patients killed in Haiti attack, charity says

Police officers at a checkpoint outside Port-au-Prince's airport this week during ongoing armed clashes in the city

Doctors' charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says at least two of its patients have been killed in Haiti after police and vigilantes attacked their ambulance in the capital Port-au-Prince.

The charity said its crews had been transporting three patients with gunshot wounds to a MSF hospital on Monday when they were stopped by authorities and forced to go to a public hospital instead.

When they arrived, officers and "members of a self-defence group" attacked the vehicle, slashing its tyres and forcing occupants out through tear-gas.

The wounded patients were then taken away from the hospital grounds where "at least two of them were executed", the charity said.

The condition of the third patient is unclear from MSF's statement. But the group said its ambulance staff were also assaulted in the incident by "law enforcement officers and members of a self-defence group".

MSF said staff were "violently attacked, insulted, tear-gassed, threatened with death" and held hostage for more than four hours before being released. The motive behind the attack is unclear.

"The act is a shocking display of violence and it seriously calls into question MSF's ability to continue delivering essential care to the Haitian people," said Christophe Garnier, the group's head of mission in the country.

MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, is one of the last humanitarian non-government organisations (NGOs) still operating in Haiti, where violent chaos has gripped the capital.

Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, armed gangs have seized power in many areas, leading to a spike in street violence in the poorest country in the Americas.

A UN Security Council briefing last month heard that criminal gangs had gained control of 85% of the capital.

More than 3,600 people have been killed in Haiti since January and more than 500,000 have had to leave their homes, according to the UN.

A UN-backed international policing operation, largely made up of Kenyan police, is in Haiti and is said to have secured some key sites in the capital including the national hospital, seaport and airport.

However, several US airlines suspended flights to the country this week after three planes approaching or departing the airport this week were hit by gunfire.

A new prime minister was sworn into office in Haiti earlier this week. Alix Didier Fils-Aimé said his priority was "restoring security" in the country.