Thousands of people are trapped, without clean water, food or access to medical care, in a neighborhood of Cité Soleil, Port-au-Prince, as armed groups clash https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-37125-icihaiti-cite-soleil-already-at-least-20-dead-and-50-injured-in-armed-clashes.html Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) alert.

Thousands of residents of Brooklyn, an isolated neighborhood of Cité Soleil, since July 8, when fighting broke out in Cité Soleil, have been unable to leave Brooklyn due to violent clashes, and water trucks drinking water, on which the inhabitants depend, could not enter.

"We are calling on all belligerents to allow aid to enter Brooklyn and to spare civilians," said Mumuza Muhindo, MSF head of mission. "We also call on the humanitarian community to respond to the urgent needs of the population in Brooklyn and other neighborhoods affected by the fighting, including for water, food and medical care."

Three MSF community health workers who live in Brooklyn treated the injured in a private clinic which is the only health facility still in operation in the enclave, Mumuza Muhindo said, adding "Along the only road into Brooklyn, we have encountered corpses that are decomposing or being burned. They could be people killed during the clashes or people trying to leave who were shot—it is a real battlefield. It is not possible to estimate how many people have been killed."

MSF is continuing its attempts to evacuate people with critical medical needs in Brooklyn, while many other residents are also asking for help to leave the area.

The organization continues to treat victims of violence in other neighborhoods of Cité Soleil. Staff at MSF's emergency center in Drouillard opened an operating theater within the facility, to begin providing emergency surgical care on site. This work was made difficult, in part because of armed clashes in the immediate vicinity, which forced medical personnel to take refuge in a secure room for several hours.

The MSF hospital in Tabarre, where many injured people are referred, is increasing its capacity to treat trauma victims. Since July 8, surgical teams in Tabarre have performed approximately 15 surgical procedures per day.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37137-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-37125-icihaiti-cite-soleil-already-at-least-20-dead-and-50-injured-in-armed-clashes.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-37125-icihaiti-cite-soleil-already-at-least-20-dead-and-50-injured-in-armed-clashes.html

HL/ HaitiLibre