Médecins Sans Frontières says vehicles shot at during hospital evacuation in Haiti

By Olivia Le Poidevin

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said on Monday that its vehicles were fired at when its team members were conducting a hospital evacuation in the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince.

The global medical charity condemned what it described as the intentional opening of fire on four of its vehicles while staff were seeking safety, following rising violence on March 15 near the Turgeau Emergency Centre.

No one was killed but MSF staff suffered minor injuries, it said in a statement, adding that it had been in contact with the authorities prior to evacuating the centre.

"None is safe amidst the ongoing violence between armed groups and law enforcement. Despite our precautions, we have been targeted and this is unacceptable," Benoit Vasseur, Head of Mission for MSF in Haiti said in a statement.

Its medical centre has been shut for the second time in four months, due to the uptick in violence in the area.

Haiti has been plagued by years of conflict in which armed gangs have cemented control over much of the capital and surrounding areas.

Recently the United Nations' children's agency, UNICEF warned that U.S. aid cuts are having an extreme and immediate impact on thousands of children in Haiti as violence spirals and more young people are recruited by armed gangs.