Crisis in Haiti: 33,000 residents fled the capital in two weeks of violence

More than 33,000 people have fled the metropolitan area of ​​Port-au-Prince in two weeks to seek shelter from escalating gang attacks, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced on Friday.

,” explained the UN agency in a press release.

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Thanks to the implementation of data collection at the most used bus stations, the IOM observed between March 8 and 20 the departure of 33,333 people from the capital, mainly to join the departments of the Great South which are already welcoming 116,000 displaced people who have fled in recent months.

These

,” insisted the IOM.

Many of the more than 33,000 people who fled the capital were already internally displaced, sometimes several times.

80% of the capital controlled by gangs

Haiti, which was already experiencing a deep political and security crisis, has been in the grip of renewed violence since the beginning of the month, when several gangs joined forces to attack strategic locations in Port-au-Prince, saying they wanted to overthrow the first Minister Ariel Henry.

Highly contested, the latter was unable to return to his country after a trip to Kenya at the beginning of the month.

He agreed to resign on March 11 and since then negotiations to form transitional authorities at the head of the country have been underway.

But in the meantime, armed gangs are further extending their hold on the capital, of which they already controlled some 80%.

,” Ulrika Richardson, UN humanitarian coordinator for the country, said on Thursday, describing an

situation .