SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — No less than one U.S. airline on Friday briefly canceled flights to Haiti’s capital after gang members opened hearth and hit a U.N. helicopter flying close to the nation’s primary airport.
Spirit Airways stated in an announcement to The Related Press that its each day flight from Fort Lauderdale to Port-au-Prince has been suspended by Sunday.
“The security of our company and workforce members is a precedence,” the Florida-based airline stated, including that it was intently monitoring the state of affairs.
The announcement comes a day after a U.N. helicopter was hit by gunfire, forcing it to make an emergency touchdown in Port-au-Prince shortly after it had departed the primary airport.
The U.N. Humanitarian Air Service helicopter, which was carrying three crew members and 15 passengers, landed safely, in response to the World Meals Program.
The capturing comes as gang violence surges throughout Haiti’s capital and past in current days, elevating considerations {that a} U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police is struggling to include the violence. 1000’s of individuals have been killed or injured this yr, and greater than 700,000 have been left homeless in recent times because of the continued gang violence.
“There’s quite a bit that must be completed to present hope,” Leslie Voltaire, president of Haiti’s transitional presidential council, stated at a press convention on Friday. “I’m not happy. Proper now there are not any outcomes. We should always do extra to enhance folks’s lives.”
U.S. and Haitian officers together with Voltaire have stated the Kenyan mission lacks personnel and funding and have requested that it’s changed by a U.N. peacekeeping mission.
Earlier this yr, coordinated gang assaults compelled the federal government to shut Haiti’s primary worldwide airport for almost three months.
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Related Press reporter Evens Sanon contributed from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
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