Armed men burst into a hospital in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince and took out a patient before shooting him outside, the NGO Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said Thursday, August 18, which said she was "
dismayed by the barbarity of this punitive expedition
".
The facts occurred Sunday at the Raoul Pierre Louis hospital, in Carrefour, in the southern suburbs of the Haitian capital, according to the organization.
"
In the emergency room supported by Médecins Sans Frontières, these men armed with handguns seized a patient and coldly executed him on leaving the hospital
," MSF said in a statement.
No details were known about the identity of the gunmen and the patient.
Contacted by AFP, the Haitian national police could not be reached immediately.
"
This is the first time that we have recorded such an incident, that armed men burst into one of our centers to perpetrate such an act
," Alexandre Michel told AFP.
Read alsoOne year after the assassination of its president, Haiti remains mired in chaos
Alexandre Michel recalled that a person had recently been shot and killed near one of the NGO's facilities not far from Cité Soleil, the most disadvantaged town in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, which caused the temporary closure of the center concerned.
"
We call for respect for our medical missions, for the wounded, for the medical staff, for the reception structures and even for the ambulances which transport the wounded
", he urged.
"
If another incident similar to what happened on August 14 happens again, we will be forced to close this center temporarily in order to assess the situation
," he added.
In June 2021, a Médecins Sans Frontières hospital in Martissant, on the southern outskirts of Port-au-Prince, an area where rival gangs clash, was targeted by gunfire.
Two months later, the organization announced the closure of this hospital after 15 years of service due to insecurity.
This hospital center has since been relocated to downtown Port-au-Prince.
Haiti has been mired in a political crisis for several years and the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 has profoundly worsened the situation.
Gangs also enjoy widespread impunity and violence has increased in recent years.