Haitians seek to flee gang-fuelled anarchy as neighbours boost militaries

With no sign yet of a long-promised transitional council to usher in the deployment of international troops and restore order, Haitians who can are trying to flee the country.

With no sign yet of a long-promised transitional council to usher in the deployment of international troops and restore order, Haitians who can are trying to flee the country.

Violent gangs have taken over much of the capital, killed thousands, and forced millions into acute hunger.

"Every day is a matter of life or death," Pierre Joseph, a 34-year-old Save the Children worker, was quoted as saying by the charity in a statement. It said he had been forced to leave two different homes with his wife and six-month-old baby, and was struggling to find basic supplies.

"For the first time, we are facing a crisis where nothing works, where the government is simply not functioning," he said, adding that food and power supplies have collapsed. "Everyone is afraid and leaving the country."

The airport and maritime ports at Port-au-Prince have been closed for a month due to gang activity, although the airport in the northern city of Cap-Haitien restarted flights to Miami last week, prompting many who are able to try to leave.

Neighbouring countries have bolstered border security measures, including the Dominican Republic, the only country that shares a land border with Haiti and which has ruled out refugee camps on its territory and deported tens of thousands.

In remarks released by the Dominican government on Thursday, Dominican Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez told the BBC that some 10,000 military personnel had been deployed to its nearly 400-km (250-mile) border, at a "heavy burden" to the national budget and disrupting cross-border trade.