Violence is battering Haiti’s fragile economy and causing food and water shortages

By EVENS SANON and DÁNICA COTO
Associated Press

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Unrelenting gang attacks in Haiti have paralyzed the country and left it with dwindling supplies of basic goods. Rotting fruit and withered vegetables sit next to hundreds of empty water jugs and propane gas canisters at businesses across the country. Worsening the situation is this week’s closure of Port-au-Prince’s main seaport. The move left stranded scores of containers filled with critical items like food and medical supplies in a country where U.N. officials say half the population does not have enough to eat and 1.4 million are starving. While grocery stores in upscale parts of Port-au-Prince remain stocked, a majority of the population cannot afford those goods.