A fresh injection of about 150 foreign officers arrived in Haiti this weekend to bolster an international security force charged with reigning in the powerful and well-armed gangs that have inflicted so much misery on the country for months. But if the past is any guide this latest infusion is unlikely to make much of a difference.
Back-to-back massacres that killed more than 300 people, followed by a Christmas Eve assault on Haiti's largest public hospital highlight the increasingly dire situation and the government's lack of control over the deepening crisis.
A news conference announcing the reopening of a public hospital closed for nine months due to gang violence was interrupted by another gang attack that killed two reporters and a police officer, underscoring the relentless nature of the violence.
Reporters caught in the ambush had to improvise medical care for their wounded colleagues, utilizing makeshift methods as they waited for rescue. This situation underscored not just the violence but the complete breakdown of medical services as few doctors were willing to risk their lives.
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