Gang clashes kill at least 78 in Port-au-Prince suburbs, UN says

Clashes between rival gangs in the suburbs of Port-au-prince have killed at least 78 people and wounded 66 since Saturday, the United Nations office in Haiti said on Thursday.

"Armed clashes between several gangs in the communes of Cite Soleil and Croix-des-Bouquets have left at least 78 dead and 66 wounded since May 9," BINUH said, adding that the fatalities included 10 "members of the population (five men, four women, and a young girl)".

Violence since the weekend has displaced some 5,300 people. Several families are still trapped in the affected neighborhoods, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, citing local humanitarian organisations.

A hospital and a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) facility have been forced to suspend operations and evacuate their staff. 

Before evacuating, Doctors Without Borders reported that 40 gunshot victims were treated at the hospital in less than 12 hours. 

The same two communes in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area saw outbreaks of violence in March and April that displaced nearly 8,000 people, the UN says.