Against a backdrop of rapid deterioration, over 33,000 people have fled the capital region in the last two weeks, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration. A state of emergency has been declared in the capital region until April, while the imposed curfew has been extended, announced the office of the resigning Prime Minister.

Many foreigners have fled the country, and the US embassy has evacuated American citizens eager to leave. The State Department said on Friday evening that it had helped 230 citizens leave the country since March 17. And it renewed an unequivocal warning to US citizens: “Do not travel to Haiti.”

This wave of evacuations underscores the gravity of the situation, as the Haitian population finds itself alone in the face of a coalition of gangs determined to eliminate it at all costs. More than 200 gangs are believed to be operating in Haiti, with nearly two dozen concentrated in and around Port-au-Prince, reports the Associated Press.

In a statement, France’s foreign ministry said military helicopters and boats were used to evacuate ‘more than 170 French nationals and around 70 people of European and other nationalities’ to nearby French territory.

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/03/27/france-airlifts-over-170-frenchpeople-from-haiti_6659316_4.html