PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — More than 53,000 people have fled Haiti’s capital in less than three weeks, the vast majority to escape unrelenting gang violence, according to a United Nations report released Tuesday.
More than 60% are headed to Haiti’s rural southern region, which worries U.N. officials.
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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — More than 53,000 people have fled Haiti’s capital in less than three weeks, the vast majority to escape unrelenting gang violence, according to a United Nations report released Tuesday.
Men run for cover as riot police launch tear gas in an effort to disperse people near the National Palace, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
An armored police car patrols the General Hospital area, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
A man walks past, near the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Street vendors withdraw from the area where they were selling their bread, near the National Palace, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
A man looks for salvageable items at a car mechanic shop that was set fire during gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
People look for salvageable items at a car mechanic shop that was set on fire during gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Youth take cover after hearing gunshots at a public school that serves as a shelter for people displaced by gang violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, March 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
People look for salvageable pieces from burned cars at a mechanic shop that was set on fire during violence by armed gangs in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
People observe the body of a man lying on the street of the Delmas 30 neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, April 1, 2024. Witnesses reported that he was struck by a stray bullet during a shootout between police and gangs. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
“Our humanitarian colleagues emphasized that these departments do not have sufficient infrastructure, and host communities do not have sufficient resources, to cope with the large number of people fleeing Port-au-Prince,” said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
The southern region already hosts more than 116,000 Haitians who previously left Port-au-Prince, according to the report by the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration.
The exodus from the capital of some 3 million people began shortly after powerful gangs launched a series of attacks on government institutions at the end of February. Gunmen have burned police stations, opened fire on the main international airport that remains closed and stormed Haiti’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.
More than 1,500 people have been reported killed up to March 22, and another 17,000 have been left homeless, according to the U.N.
Among the rare travelers trying to head north instead of south from the capital were Marjorie Michelle-Jean, a 42-year-old street vendor, and her two children, ages 4 and 7.
“I want to see them alive,” she said, explaining that stray bullets keep hitting the tin roof of their home. Last week, they tried twice to travel to her hometown of Mirebalais in central Haiti but were forced to turn back because of roadblocks.
“I will definitely try again,” she said. “It’s absolutely not safe in Port-au-Prince.”
Of the 53,125 people who fled Port-au-Prince from March 8-27, nearly 70% already had been forced to abandon their homes and were living with relatives or in crowded and unsanitary makeshift shelters across the capital, the U.N. found.
More than 90% of Haitians leaving the capital have been crowding into buses, risking travel through gang-controlled territory where gang rapes have been reported and gunmen have been known to open fire on public transport.
The violence forced Prime Minister Ariel Henry to announce last month that he would resign once a transitional presidential council is created. Henry was in Kenya to push for the U.N.-backed deployment of a police force from the East African country when the attacks began, and he remains locked out of Haiti.
The transitional council, which will be responsible for choosing a new prime minister and council of ministers, has yet to be formally established.
Meanwhile, the mass migration from Port-au-Prince is expected to continue.
But Gary Dorval, 29, who was among a handful of people joining a demonstration on Tuesday, said he wants to stay until a new government is installed: “I want to be part of the change.”
Associated Press reporters Dánica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed.
A man runs for cover as riot police launch tear gas in an effort to remove street vendors in the Champs de Mars area, next to the National Palace, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Men run for cover as riot police launch tear gas in an effort to disperse people near the National Palace, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
An armored police car patrols the General Hospital area, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
A man walks past, near the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Street vendors withdraw from the area where they were selling their bread, near the National Palace, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
A man looks for salvageable items at a car mechanic shop that was set fire during gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
People look for salvageable items at a car mechanic shop that was set on fire during gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Youth take cover after hearing gunshots at a public school that serves as a shelter for people displaced by gang violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, March 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
People look for salvageable pieces from burned cars at a mechanic shop that was set on fire during violence by armed gangs in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
People observe the body of a man lying on the street of the Delmas 30 neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, April 1, 2024. Witnesses reported that he was struck by a stray bullet during a shootout between police and gangs. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Students protesting the war in Gaza abandoned their camp at the University of Southern California early Sunday after being surrounded by police and threatened with arrest, while Northeastern University's commencement ended peacefully at Boston's Fenway Park.
Developments in both places were being watched closely following scores of arrests last month — more than 90 people at USC in Los Angeles and about 100 at Northeastern in Boston.
Dozens of Los Angeles Police Department officers arrived about 4 a.m. at USC to assist campus safety officers. The university had warned of arrests on social media and in person. Video showed some protesters packing up and leaving, while officers formed lines to push others away from the camp as it emptied out. The university said there were no reports of any arrests.
USC President Carol Folt said it was time to draw a line because “the occupation was spiraling in a dangerous direction” with areas of campus blocked and people being harassed.
“The operation was peaceful," Folt wrote in an update. “Campus is opening, students are returning to prepare for finals, and commencement set-up is in full swing.”
USC earlier canceled its main graduation ceremony while allowing other commencement activities to continue.
Across town at the University of California, Los Angeles, officials announced the creation of a new chief safety officer position to oversee campus security operations. The announcement Sunday came after UCLA was criticized for its handling of demonstrations that culminated in a mob attack on a pro-Palestinian student encampment last week.
At the Northeastern commencement Sunday, some students waved small Palestinian and Israeli flags, but were outnumbered by those waving the flags of India and the U.S., among others. Undergraduate student speaker Rebecca Bamidele drew brief cheers when she called for peace in Gaza.
The Associated Press has tallied about 2,500 people arrested at about 50 campuses since April 18, based on its reporting and statements from universities and law enforcement.
Arrests continued apace over the weekend. At the University of Virginia, there were 25 arrests Saturday for trespassing after police clashed with protesters who refused to remove tents. At the Art Institute of Chicago campus, police cleared a pro-Palestinian encampment hours after it was set up Saturday and arrested 68 people, saying they would be charged with criminal trespass.
In Charlottesville, Virginia, student demonstrators began their protest on a lawn outside the school chapel Tuesday. Video on Saturday showed police in riot gear and holding shields lined up on campus, while protesters chanted “Free Palestine.”
As police moved in, students were pushed to the ground, pulled by their arms and sprayed with a chemical irritant, Laura Goldblatt, an assistant professor who has been helping the demonstrators, told The Washington Post. The university said protesters were told that tents were banned under school policy and were asked to remove them.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares told Fox News on Sunday the police response was justified because students had been warned repeatedly to leave, were violating the school's conduct code, and that outsiders who were not students provided protesters with supplies like wooden barriers.
"We’ve seen folks that are not students show up in riot gear with bull horns to direct the protesters on how to flank our officers," Miyares said.
He said some had put bear spray into water bottles and thrown them at officers.
It was the latest clash in weeks of protests and tension at U.S. colleges and universities.
Tent encampments of protesters urging universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies they say support the war in Gaza have spread in a student movement unlike any other this century. Some schools reached agreements with protesters to end the demonstrations and reduce the possibility of disrupting final exams and commencements.
The University of Michigan was among the schools that had braced for protests during commencement this weekend, as were Indiana University, Ohio State University and Northeastern. More ceremonies are planned in the coming weeks.
In Ann Arbor, there was a protest at the beginning of the event at Michigan Stadium. About 75 people, many wearing traditional Arabic kaffiyehs along with their graduation caps, marched up the main aisle toward the stage.
They chanted “Regents, regents, you can’t hide! You are funding genocide!” while holding signs, including one that read: “No universities left in Gaza.”
Overhead, planes pulled banners with competing messages. “Divest from Israel now! Free Palestine!” and “We stand with Israel. Jewish lives matter.”
Officials said no one was arrested, and the protest didn’t seriously interrupt the nearly two-hour event, attended by tens of thousands of people, some of them waving Israeli flags.
At Indiana University, protesters urged supporters to wear their kaffiyehs and walk out during remarks by school President Pamela Whitten on Saturday evening. The Bloomington campus designated a protest zone outside Memorial Stadium, where the ceremony was held.
At Princeton University in New Jersey, 18 students began a hunger strike to try to push the university to divest from companies tied to Israel. Students at other colleges, including Brown and Yale, launched similar hunger strikes this year before the more recent wave of demonstrations.
The protests stem from the conflict that started Oct. 7 when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking roughly 250 hostages. Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel launched an offensive in Gaza that has killed more than 34,500 Palestinians, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. Israeli strikes have devastated the enclave and displaced most of its inhabitants.
Perry reported form Meredith, New Hampshire, and Marcelo from New York. Also contributing were Associated Press reporters Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia; Ed White in Detroit, and Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee.
CORRECTS NAME TO ROUSE DAVIS BOYCE INSTEAD OF CONNOR MOORE - University of Mississippi student and counter-protester Rouse Davis Boyce, center, taunts graduate student Jaylin R. Smith with a piece of bread during a protest in support of Palestinians on Thursday, May 2, 2024, outside the J.D. Williams Library on the school campus in Oxford, Miss. (HG Biggs/The Clarion-Ledger via AP)
A demonstrator stands in front of an encampment set up by pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the campus at the University of Southern California after police arrived with orders to disperse Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
People carry belongings out of an encampment set up by pro-Palestinian demonstrators after police arrived for a raid on the campus at the University of Southern California Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
People carry belongings out of an encampment set up by pro-Palestinian demonstrators after police arrived for a raid on the campus at the University of Southern California Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
A person protests in front of a police officer after police arrived on the campus at the University of Southern California to clear an encampment set up by pro-Palestinian demonstrators Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
A protestors gestures near police officers after a raid on the pro-Palestinian encampment on the campus at the University of Southern California Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Police gather on the campus at the University of Southern California prior to clearing out an encampment set up by pro-Palestinian demonstrators Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators remove belongings from an encampment after police arrived on the campus at the University of Southern California Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
People stand guard outside an encampment set up by pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the campus at the University of Southern California Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Police form a line where pro-Palestinian protesters set up tents on the grounds of the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Cal Cary/The Daily Progress via AP)
A pro-Palestinian supporter holds a sign reading "State Police=KKK" on the grounds of the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Va., where they set up tents, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Cal Cary/The Daily Progress via AP)
Police use a microphone as a pro-Palestinian demonstrator listens on the grounds of the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Va., where tents were set up, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Cal Cary/The Daily Progress via AP)
A graduate holds his cap with an Israeli flag while shouting at pro-Palestinian protesters as they demonstrate during the University of Michigan's Spring 2024 Commencement Ceremony at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Katy Kildee/Detroit News via AP)
Rawan Antar, 21, center, chants in support of Palestinians during the University of Michigan's Spring 2024 Commencement Ceremony at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Katy Kildee/Detroit News via AP)
Graduates sporting Israeli flags and pins shout at Pro-Palestinian protesters as they demonstrate during the University of Michigan's Spring 2024 Commencement Ceremony at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Katy Kildee/Detroit News via AP)
Graduate Ari Belchinsky wears pro-Israel pins during the University of Michigan's Spring 2024 Commencement Ceremony at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Jacob Hamilton/Ann Arbor News via AP)
Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate during the University of Michigan's Spring 2024 Commencement Ceremony at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Saturday, May 4, 2024.( Jacob Hamilton/Ann Arbor News via AP)
A graduate waits for the University of Michigan's Spring 2024 Commencement Ceremony to begin at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Jacob Hamilton/Ann Arbor News via AP)
CORRECTS PHRASE ON BANNER - A plane pulling a banner that reads "Divest From Israel Now! Free Palestine" flies overhead before the University of Michigan's Spring 2024 Commencement Ceremony at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Katy Kildee/Detroit News via AP)
A plane bearing a banner that reads ""We stand with Israel jewishlivesmatter.us" flies overhead before the University of Michigan's Spring 2024 Commencement Ceremony at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Jacob Hamilton/Ann Arbor News via AP)
Graduates sporting Israeli flags and pins shout at Pro-Palestinian protesters as they demonstrate during the University of Michigan's Spring 2024 Commencement Ceremony at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Saturday, May 4, 2024.( Jacob Hamilton/Ann Arbor News via AP)
Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate during the University of Michigan's Spring 2024 Commencement Ceremony at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Saturday, May 4, 2024.( Jacob Hamilton/Ann Arbor News via AP)
Police and pro-Palestinian demonstrators stand across from one another on the grounds of the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Va., where tents are set up, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Cal Cary/The Daily Progress via AP)
Police move pro-Palestinian demonstrators back from the grounds of the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Va., where tents are set up, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Cal Cary/The Daily Progress via AP)
The aftermath of a site is seen after authorities broke up a demonstration by pro-Palestinian protesters on the campus of the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Cal Cary/The Daily Progress via AP)
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators take videos and photos with their phones on the University of Virginia campus as police break up what authorities called an "unlawful assembly," in Charlottesville, Va., where tents are set up, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Cal Cary/The Daily Progress via AP)
Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate during the University of Michigan's Spring 2024 Commencement Ceremony at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Saturday, May 4, 2024.( Jacob Hamilton/Ann Arbor News via AP)
Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate during the University of Michigan's Spring 2024 Commencement Ceremony at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Jacob Hamilton/Ann Arbor News via AP)
Police with riot shields form a line across from pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the grounds of the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Va., where tents are set up, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Cal Cary/The Daily Progress via AP)
A police officer, right, watches a protester wave a Palestinian flag on the grounds of the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Va., where tents are set up, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Cal Cary/The Daily Progress via AP)
Police with riot shields detain a pro-Palestinian demonstrator on the ground as a National Lawyers Guild representative holds up an emergency contact notebook, on the University of Virginia campus, in Charlottesville, Va., where tents are set up, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Cal Cary/The Daily Progress via AP)
A pro-Palestinian demonstrator wears goggles and a mask as police with riot shields and protesters stand across from one another on the grounds of the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Va., where tents are set up, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Cal Cary/The Daily Progress via AP)
Police lift a pro-Palestinian demonstrator from the ground on the University of Virginia campus, in Charlottesville, Va., where tents are set up, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Cal Cary/The Daily Progress via AP)
