UNICEF boss warns of absolute chaos in Haiti with residents suffering 'serious ... trends now
The UN children's agency chief said the situation in Haiti is the 'worst in decades' as millions face famine amid a rise in gang violence and looting.
UNICEF said one of its containers holding 'essential items for maternal, neonatal, and child survival, including resuscitators and related equipment' was looted in the capital of Port-au-Prince's main port on Saturday.
Looting and overall violence has further cut some of the country's most vulnerable from basic supplies, coming 'at a critical moment when children need them the most,' the agency said.
That same day, the Guatemala's Foreign Ministry said the offices of its honorary consul in Haiti was ransacked, but didn't give any details of damage or thefts, nor did it say who was responsible.
'It's like a scene out of Mad Max. Honestly, that's what it seems like.
'Gangs, vigilantes responding to the gangs,' UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell told CBS News.
UNICEF said one of its containers holding 'essential items for maternal, neonatal, and child survival, including resuscitators and related equipment' was looted in the capital of Port-au-Prince's main port on Saturday
Looting and overall violence has further cut some of the country's most vulnerable from basic supplies
Gangs have raged through Haiti in recent weeks, attacking key institutions and shutting down the main international airport
Shortages of electricity, fuel and medical supplies have affected hospitals nationwide, with six out of ten facilities not able to function. Pictured: men transporting bags of coal
'Many, many people there are suffering from serious hunger and malnutrition and we're not able to get enough aid to them.'
Gangs have raged through Haiti in recent weeks, attacking key institutions and shutting down the main international airport. The gangs, led by a man nicknamed 'Barbeque' have risen to power without clear leadership in the country and the prime minister's resignation.
Approximately 1.4 million Haitians are on the verge of famine, and more than 4 million require food aid, sometimes eating only once a day or nothing at all, aid groups said.
'Haiti is facing a protractive and mass hunger,' Jean-Martin Bauer, Haiti director for the United Nations' World Food Program, told The Associated Press.
'We have supplies for weeks. I’m saying weeks, not months, that has me terrified.'
The country's top gang leader Jimmy 'Barbeque' Cherizier has threatened the families of political leaders who would support a planned transition council replacing outgoing PM Aruel Henry.
Haiti Libre reported the Haitian National Police raided Barbeque's territory on Friday as part of a strategy to unblock roads, seize firearms and facilitate the free movement of citizens.
According to police
