The United Nations Wednesday said that the humanitarian situation in the department of Artibonite in Haiti is deteriorating quickly as armed groups expand their control in several communes.
Artibonite is Haiti’s largest department, a vital central region known as the country’s ‘breadbasket’ due to the fertile Artibonite River valley, historically Haiti’s main rice-growing area, with its capital in Gonaives.
The Deputy UN Spokesperson, Farhan Haq, told the daily UN press briefing that officials at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) are warning of the deteriorating situation which further restricting access.
Armed gangs have been seeking to overthrow the interim government in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) government ever since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise on July7, 2021.
They are in control of most of the capital, Port-Au-Prince and in October, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution approving the deployment of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) to combat rampant gang violence, restore public safety, and support Haitian institutions amidst severe humanitarian crisis, replacing the earlier Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission.
The GSF is tasked with controlling gangs, securing infrastructure, combating arms trafficking, and creating conditions for elections operating for an initial 12 months with UN support.
‘On 15 December, local sources reported that six people were killed and others wounded following an armed attack in the commune of Verette. Houses and agricultural storage facilities were reportedly set on fire. People were forced to flee, though figures are not yet available,’ Haq said.
He said the assailants also attempted to set fire to the Albert Schweitzer Haiti Hospital, a major medical institution in Verette, but were repelled by security forces in the area.
‘Two weeks earlier, more than 11,000 people were displaced in the same department following attacks in the communes of L’Estère, Pont-Sondé, Descordes and Liancourt,’ Haq said, adding that OCHA continues to closely monitor the situation, and the UN and its partners are mobilised to deliver aid as soon as security conditions permit.