Doctors Without Borders suspends operations in Haiti

Doctors Without Borders has suspended its activities in Port-au-Prince following a series of threats by the country's police forces, the organization announced Tuesday.

Death and rape are among the threats that Doctors Without Borders -- or Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) -- staff have received from police officers, the release said.

“As MSF, we accept working in conditions of insecurity, but when even law enforcement becomes a direct threat, we have no choice but to suspend admissions of patients in Port-au-Prince until the conditions are met for us to resume,” the organization's head of mission in Haiti Christophe Garnier said in the release.

“Every day that we cannot resume activities is a tragedy, as we are one of the few providers of a wide range of medical services that have remained open during this extremely difficult year. However, we can no longer continue operating in an environment where our staff is at risk of being attacked, raped, or even killed!” he continued.

Operations at the U.S. Embassy in Haiti have been limited following incidents of armed violence and disruptions, the embassy announced Tuesday.

The Port-au-Prince international airport has also suspended operations through Nov. 25 as the area "remains unstable" and "outbreaks of violence" near the airport could happen, the alert said.

The release follows a Nov. 11 attack that resulted in the execution of at least two patients and physical harm to the organization's staff, the announcement read.

According to the organization, there have been four other threatening incidents since Nov. 11. The incidents, as described by the organization, included stops by police officers of ambulances owned by the organization, followed by verbal attacks and threats to kill staff and patients.

"Many people will lose access to MSF services because we are not able to work safely in Port-au-Prince. We remain committed to people in Haiti but cannot resume admissions of new patients to our facilities in Port-au-Prince unless we are guaranteed unhindered security and respect for our medical and humanitarian mandate by armed groups, members of vigilante groups, and law enforcement officers," Garnier said in the alert.

The organization said that it provides care to more than 1,100 patients on an outpatient basis, 54 children and more than 80 survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.

The Hill has contacted the U.S. Embassy in Haiti for further comment.