(Reuters) – The U.S. Embassy in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince said it was closed on Tuesday, with all personnel restricted to embassy compounds until further notice due to gunfire in the vicinity.
“Some routes to the embassy may be impacted due to continued rapid gunfire,” the embassy said in a security alert.
The closure follows tense protests that rattled the capital on Monday, when demonstrators squared off against police, demanding protection from gang violence.
Gang violence in Haiti has sent kidnappings and homicides surging, while devastating health care. Some 5.2 million people – nearly half of Haiti’s population – need humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations.
(Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam in Bengaluru and Brendan O’Boyle in Mexico City; Editing by Mark Porter)
