US Embassy in Haiti closes amid ‘rapid gunfire’

The U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, was closed Tuesday due to “rapid gunfire” nearby, the embassy announced.

Violent protest and gang activity has taken over Port-au-Prince in recent months, which prompted the U.S. to encourage nonessential personnel to leave the country last month, citing the threat of kidnappers.

“Given the recent armed clashes between gangs and the police and the high threat of violent crime and kidnapping throughout Port-au-Prince, the Department of State urges U.S. citizens to make plans to depart Haiti As soon as possible via commercial means,” the embassy said in late July.

Last week, a New Hampshire nurse and her daughter were kidnapped in Haiti. The pair is still missing.

Gang violence in Haiti has increased by 28 percent in the first quarter of 2023, and the senior U.N. representative in Port-au-Prince told the U.N. Security Council earlier this year that in 2022, ‘gang violence overall reached levels not seen in decades.’

The violence has caused at least 165,000 Haitians to flee their homes, mostly to temporary shelters.

As many as 750,000 people require food aid as the country experiences famine. The United Nations World Food Program reduced its programs in the country last month, citing budgetary limits. Those cuts took away aid from about 100,000 people.

Nearly five million Haitians don’t have enough food, the U.N. organization said.

Last week, the U.S. backed a United Nations plan for a multinational police force in Haiti. Led by Kenya, the force would fight gang violence, mostly in Port-au-Prince.

Helen La Lime, the secretary-general’s special representative in Haiti, has called for the force’s deployment since October 2022.

The embassy has encouraged Americans to avoid crowds, attempt to leave affected areas of Port-au-Prince if possible and beware of roadblocks in streets.