Overview:
Residents of Turgeau and nearby neighborhoods are pleading for swift government action as gangs from Gran Ravin and Village-de-Dieu move closer. The permanent closure of Doctors Without Borders’ facility has deepened fears that another community in central Port-au-Prince could soon fall.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Fear and frustration are rising among residents of Turgeau and surrounding neighborhoods as gangs continue their advance toward the heart of Haiti’s capital. Community leaders are pleading with authorities for immediate intervention, warning that without action, Turgeau could soon fall under gang control.
Their alarm intensified after Doctors Without Borders (MSF, its French acronym) permanently closed its hospital in Turgeau on Oct. 15, following repeated attacks on patients and staff. The closure has become a chilling symbol of the government’s inability to secure even central districts of Port-au-Prince.
“Without a coordinated armed operation across the perimeter stretching from Babiole to Rue M — near the Sisters of the Sacred Heart school — Turgeau will fall before December,” warned resident Erno Renoncourt in a message shared on social media by Patrick Moussignac, CEO of Radio Caraïbes.
Renoncourt said that gangs advancing from Gran Ravin and Village-de-Dieu have already reached Rue Duncombe, a nearby area in southeast Port-au-Prince, taking over buildings and terrorizing residents. “The closure of the MSF center is a warning sign — the same thing happened before Martissant collapsed,” he said, recalling another area overtaken by gangs in 2022.
Across Turgeau, Pacot, Débussy and Canapé-Vert, families remain on edge. Many are sleeping in shifts, fearing attacks. “Every night, we hear gunfire getting closer,” said a resident who chose to stay anonymous due to be fear of retribution. “We’ve seen this movie before — when one neighborhood falls, the next follows.”
Despite the looming threat, the Haitian National Police (PNH) has not announced new measures to secure the community or reinforce nearby stations. “There’s a clear negligence that has allowed gangs to regroup and spread,” Renoncourt added.
More communities under siege as violence spreads beyond the capital
The escalation in Turgeau mirrors the pattern seen in other neighborhoods across Port-au-Prince. After seizing control of Carrefour-Feuilles, Portail Léogâne and parts of Avenue Christophe, armed groups are pushing deeper into the capital — often within sight of government buildings and police bases.
Residents say they feel abandoned by authorities as gangs continue to call displaced families to return home despite ongoing attacks. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they attack the same people they asked to return to their homes,” said a resident of Petite Place Cazeau, Delmas 33.
The MSF closure in Turgeau adds to the nearly 30 hospitals and clinics that have shut down in Haiti since 2023 due to insecurity, according to humanitarian agencies. “Each closure means more people left without care, more lives at risk,” said Jean-Marc Biquet, MSF’s head of mission in Haiti.
“Without a coordinated armed operation across the perimeter stretching from Babiole to Rue M — near the Sisters of the Sacred Heart school — Turgeau will fall before December,”
Erno Renoncourt, A resident of Turgeau
Gang violence has also intensified outside Port-au-Prince. In the Artibonite Department, armed groups attacked several communes this month, burning rice fields and forcing thousands to flee.
Between Oct. 14 and 17, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported nearly 9,000 people displaced after attacks in Liancourt, Bélanger and Verrettes. Videos circulating on social media show gangs from Savien setting plantations ablaze — a devastating blow to farmers in Haiti’s main rice-producing region.
At that time, according to the National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH), criminals controlled eight of the 17 communes in the Artibonite Department. The human rights organization reports having documented at least 24 attacks during the first nine months of this year alone.
“Criminal gangs and terrorists set fire to rice plantations in the Artibonite. Several videos are circulating on WhatsApp. What are the peasants supposed to do? Whose interests are [gangs] serving?” asks Velina Charlier on X, a political activist and Vodou priestess. “Who benefits from this crime? Where are the police? We are grown-ups, so we need to understand.”
Yet, as gangs burn farms in the Artibonite valley, 5.7 million Haitians face acute food insecurity, including 1.9 million in emergency levels — the highest recorded in a decade, according to the Integrated Food Security Classification.
Pressure mounts on new security mission
The Gang Suppression Force (GSF), created to replace the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), says it has begun operations in the Artibonite region and parts of Port-au-Prince. Yet, residents in Turgeau say they have seen no change.
While the GSF operates alongside the Haitian National Police and Armed Forces (FAd’H), no new foreign troops have yet arrived. The UN Security Council formally adopted a resolution on Sept. 30 expanding the GSF’s 12-month mandate, but deployment delays have left communities like Turgeau exposed.
For now, residents cling to hope that authorities will intervene before their neighborhood becomes another casualty in Haiti’s spreading urban warfare.
“We just want to live,” a young mother of two told The Haitian Times, her voice trembling as she spoke under anonymity due to insecurity. “We don’t want to flee like the others. But if no one comes, we’ll have no choice.”
As she urged the authorities to act, she said: “People here are tired of promises. We need action — not press releases.”
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