Medecins Sans Frontieres Shutters Haiti Emergency Clinic After Patient Shot Dead

Medecins Sans Frontieres, named Doctors Without Borders in English, shut down an emergency clinic in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince after armed men shot a patient dead.

The medical charity said on Thursday that armed men stopped an ambulance, forcibly removed a wounded patient, beat him and then shot him dead. Medecins Sans Frontieres did not reveal the identity of the patient. 

MSF’s Haiti mission head, Benoit Vasseur, said in a statement, “We need a minimum of safety to carry out our medical mission.” He further said, “We can’t accept that our ambulances are attacked, and our patients are beaten and killed.”

The emergency clinic in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital city, has been shut down temporarily following the violent incident. 

What happened at the clinic?

The violent incident took place in Turgeau Emergency Center. Armed men tortured a critically ill patient at an MSF ambulance. Armed men then fled the scene. 

The violent incident affected the peace and security of the area. Other patients started fearing for their lives. The incident forced the clinic to cut operations due to lack of safety for staff and patients. 

Other clinics in Port-au-Prince will continue its operations. 

In recent months, violent attacks from armed gangs in Haiti, a Caribbean country, has forced many aid groups and clinics to cut operations. 

Earlier this year, MSF announced the closure of one of its hospitals. Médecins Sans Frontières, a charity that provides humanitarian medical care, provides care to trauma and burn victims, sexual violence survivors, pregnant women and other patients at some clinics around the capital.

In August, violence in Haiti’s capital pushed more than 3,000 people to flee their homes. They were forced to seek shelter in improvised sites. 

Violence increased in Haiti after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. It worsened the already dire food insecurity in the region.