An armed gang in Haiti opened fire yesterday afternoon local time and hit a United Nations helicopter, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing in the capital Port-au-Prince. American and local media reported that the aircraft was carrying three crewmembers and 15 passengers, fortunately all unharmed. This episode occurs five months after the reopening of the main international airport of the island, historically characterized by marked political instability, closed for a prolonged period due to a series of violent episodes that have plunged the country into a serious crisis on multiple fronts, from the economic to the social and humanitarian, since the beginning of the year.

UN helicopters are essential for delivering food and other aid to millions of Haitians in communities cut off from roads and in places ruled by armed gangs. There was no official confirmation of the attack targeting the helicopter, which operates under the UN World Food Programme.