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Protests in Port-au-Prince: The current escalation is exacerbating the precarious humanitarian situation in Haiti

Photo: Johnson Sabin / EPA

Given the escalating gang violence, the humanitarian situation in Haiti continues to worsen.

After days of attacks on police stations, courts and airports, several countries have now taken action and flown out embassy employees and diplomats.

As a spokesman for the Foreign Office confirmed in the evening, the German ambassador and the permanent representative have already left the Caribbean country.

On Sunday, "due to the very tense security situation in Haiti, they left for the Dominican Republic together with representatives from the EU delegation" and are working from there until further notice.

It had previously become known that the US military had evacuated some of the staff from the US embassy in Haiti and strengthened security measures there.

As the Southcom regional command announced, non-essential employees were flown out at the request of the US State Department.

More than 360,000 people have fled violence within Haiti

Haiti has been in a serious crisis for years, which includes not only gang violence but also political instability and economic hardship.

In the last five years alone, the number of people in need of humanitarian aid has doubled.

The current escalation has paralyzed large parts of the poor Caribbean country.

All flights to and from Haiti have been canceled for days; on Friday evening, according to media reports, there was heavy shooting around the presidential palace and prisoners were freed from prisons.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, the health system was already on the verge of collapse on Wednesday.

According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 360,000 people have now fled violence within Haiti.

It is still unclear how many people fell victim to the violence.

The Washington Post reports bodies on the street that could not be buried because of the security situation and were burned instead.

Violence in Haiti escalated at the end of February while Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry was on a trip abroad in Kenya.

He was actually supposed to leave office at the beginning of February, but instead he agreed with the opposition to govern together until new elections were held "within twelve months."

The armed gangs in the country, however, are demanding his resignation.

Since the outbreak of violence, Henry has not returned to Haiti, apparently because of the security situation.

Instead, he traveled to Puerto Rico on Tuesday.

The President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, had previously declared Henry persona non grata.

For security reasons, this is not welcome.

The crisis in Haiti also represents a direct threat to the stability and security of the Dominican Republic.

spr/dpa/AFP