US to evacuate 20 embassy staff from Haiti following car attack and intensifying gang violence, say sources

(CNN) — Violence is intensifying in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, this week, which saw a United Nations helicopter hit by gunfire and two gangs apparently target US embassy vehicles.

A security source told CNN on Tuesday that two armored vehicles belonging to the US Embassy in Haiti were fired upon by the criminal groups “400 Mawozo” and “Chen Mechan.” No injuries were reported, but the US vehicles are believed to have been intentionally targeted, the security source said.

The attacks, along with an increase in gang activity around the embassy’s vicinity, have prompted embassy officials to begin the process of evacuating up to 20 diplomatic staff from the capital, another source told CNN on Thursday.

The evacuation of “non-emergency” diplomatic workers will be rolled out in the “coming days,” the second source said.

Also on Thursday, a humanitarian helicopter used by the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) in the country was hit by heavy gunfire as it was airborne over Port-au-Prince, causing the agency to cancel Friday’s scheduled flights.

Pictures shared with CNN show at least eight bullet holes on the helicopters fuselage and what appears to be its rotor system. The helicopter, which was clearly marked as a UN aircraft, was carrying 18 people when it was hit, according to a WFP statement.

No one was injured in the incident and the aircraft was able to land safely, WFP spokesperson Shaza Moghraby told CNN, adding that the agency is still trying to establish what happened.

“Humanitarian air transport is essential to delivering a response across Haiti,” the WFP statement also said. Many roads in the Caribbean nation are too dangerous to use for overland transport due to gang attacks and roadblocks.

This isn’t the first time a helicopter used by the WFP is hit by gunfire. Last July, an apparent stray bullet hit a helicopter while parked at the Toussaint Louverture airport in Port-au-Prince.

Thursday’s helicopter shooting will “likely” cause US airlines to halt their operations once again in Port-au-Prince, the second source told CNN.

Last March, major US carriers like Spirit, JetBlue, and American Airlines suspended their operations at Port-au-Prince’s international airport for nearly three months after a sudden spike in gang violence. CNN has reached out to the three airlines for comment.

Gang violence in Haiti has spiraled in recent years, with attacks becoming more brazen and violent. Gangs in Haiti control much of the capital, and the ongoing violence has left nearly 700,000 Haitians homeless in recent years. The UN reports that 3,661 people have been killed since January this year.

Earlier this month, three infants were among the scores of people brutally killed in a gang attack in central Haiti. Members of the “Gran Grif” gang used automatic rifles to kill at least 70 people in an attack that displaced 6,000 people, said a UN agency at the time.

Reporting contributed by CNN’s Caitlin Hu and Tara John.

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