Haiti's prime minister tours Port au Prince hospital after police take back from gang control
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00:00Surrounding streets resemble a wasteland, and the building's exterior is riddled with
00:06bullet holes.
00:07This is the state of Haiti's largest public hospital, after police liberated it from the
00:12control of armed gangs.
00:15As the country's newly appointed Prime Minister, Gary Coney, toured the area on Tuesday, the
00:20former doctor decried the destruction.
00:24When I was here, 1,500 people used to come to this hospital every single day.
00:29And today, it's impossible for them to have access to care.
00:33A hospital is not a war zone.
00:36Even under the worst circumstances, hospitals are protected.
00:40Gangs took control of the hospital after they launched a series of attacks on Poil Pass
00:46in late February.
00:47Since then, raging gun battles have meant that both the facility and its nearby still
00:52under construction replacement have become a no-go zone.
00:57Haiti's health care system, already struggling before the gang violence, is on the brink
01:02of collapse.
01:03Several medical facilities and pharmacies across the capital have been looted or destroyed.
01:09After launching an operation the night before, Haiti's police chief said his forces had reclaimed
01:14the site on Monday.
01:16He made the announcement alongside the commander of the UN-backed contingent of Kenyan police
01:21that arrived in Haiti two weeks ago and that's tasked with helping curb gang violence.
01:26The job is to ensure there's a restoration of peace and we intend to achieve this.
01:35200 Kenyan troops are now in Haiti, with that figure set to increase to 1,000.
01:41They'll later be joined by police from the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad
01:46and Jamaica, with the force totalling 2,500.
01:50Their mission aims to create security conditions conducive to holding democratic elections
01:56in February 2026.