US issues travel advisory on Haiti following rising gang violence cases

The Embassy of the United States in Haiti has issued a travel advisory and cancelled visa appointments and citizen services indefinitely owing to rising violence in the capital Port au Prince.

The Embassy said the situation in the Caribbean country is currently unpredictable and dangerous.

"Travel within Haiti is conducted at your own risk. The US government cannot guarantee your safety travelling to airports, borders, or during any onward travel. You should consider your personal security situation before travelling anywhere in Haiti," the warning said.

The escalating situation has seen the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issue a notice prohibiting US civilian aircraft and US pilots from flying below 10,000 feet in specified areas of Haiti until Dec 12 due to safety risks associated with the ongoing security instability.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, at least 150 people have been killed, 92 injured and about 20,000 others forced to flee their homes in the past week.

On Wednesday, Turk said the deaths and injuries from the latest violence, which began on November 11, bring the verified casualty toll of the gang violence so far this year to a shocking 4,544 dead and 2,060 injured but the real toll is likely higher still.

This is in addition, an estimated 700,000 people are internally displaced across the country, half of them being children.

At the same time, an estimated four million people in the capital Port au Prince are being held hostage as gangs control all the main roads in and out of the capital.

"The latest upsurge in violence in Haiti's capital is a harbinger of worse to come. The gang violence must be promptly halted. Haiti must not be allowed to descend further into chaos," said the Human Rights Chief.

UN data shows that at least 55 per cent of the deaths from simultaneous and coordinated attacks in the capital arose from exchanges of fire between gang members and police.

The situation has been worsened by reports of a rise in mob lynchings.

"In a night-time attack on November 18, gang members attempted to take control of the Pétion-Ville suburb, one of the last few districts of the capital not controlled by gangs. The previous day the police had foiled a gang attack on the National Police Academy."

The endless gang violence and widespread insecurity are deepening the dire humanitarian crisis in the country, including the impacts of severe food and water shortages and the spread of infectious diseases, at a time when the health system is already on the brink of collapse.

The High Commissioner further noted threats and attacks on humanitarian workers are also deeply worrying.

"Gang violence must not prevail over the institutions of the State. Concrete steps must be taken to bolster the Haitian police force and support the Multinational Security Support mission in Haiti to protect the population and to restore effective rule of law," he said.

On Wednesday, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) announced that they had suspended their activities in the metropolitan area of the capital following a series of threats by the police.

The organisation said police had on multiple occasions stopped their vehicles and issued direct threats at their staff in addition to an earlier incident where one of their ambulances was attacked leading to the death of at least two patients and injuries on its staff.

"These repeated incidents have compelled us to stop patient admissions and transfers to our five medical facilities in Haiti's capital as of 20 November, as they clearly illustrate the direct targeting of our personnel and patients in Haiti," Christophe Garnier, MSF's head of mission in Haiti said in a statement.