UNITED NATIONS, March 6 (Xinhua) -- All flights in and out of Haiti remain canceled, and the situation in Port-au-Prince is extremely fragile, with sporadic attacks continuing, a UN spokesman said on Wednesday.

The Security Council met privately on Wednesday afternoon to hear a briefing by Maria Isabel Salvador, head of the UN mission in Haiti.

"The secretary-general reiterates the need for urgent action, including financing for the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, to tackle the security needs of the people of Haiti," said Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Dujarric said Guterres reiterated his call on the government of Haiti and all Haitian stakeholders to set aside their differences and advance a common path toward restoring democratic institutions.

However, the spokesman said that Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry is in Puerto Rico waiting to go home.

Henry was returning from signing an agreement in Nairobi to dispatch a police contingent to Haiti to lead the MSS in assisting Haiti police against gangs controlling swaths of the Caribbean nation.

Widespread violence erupted over the weekend in the capital city in Henry's absence, including an attack on the Port-au-Prince airport and prisons, reportedly triggering the release of thousands of prisoners.

Published reports from Haiti said gang leaders were demanding Henry's resignation.

"Our colleagues who focus on humanitarian affairs say that thousands of civilians continue to be caught up in the violence in the capital Port-au-Prince and beyond," Dujarric said, adding that the majority of 15,000 newly displaced people are women and children.

"Displaced families are traumatized," he said. "Access to food, healthcare, water and hygiene facilities, and psychological support are among the most urgent needs for civilians in Port-au-Prince."

He said the United Nations and its humanitarian partners are delivering emergency aid, but escalating violence has severely disrupted operations.

"Our humanitarian colleagues also advised they're concerned about the impact of the violence on hospitals, health centers and schools in Port-au-Prince, and some other neighboring areas in Haiti," the spokesman said. "Health infrastructure is on the brink of collapse. Port-au-Prince's main public hospital has closed due to violence and the inability of staff to actually get to the hospital to support the people who need help."

Dujarric said the main hospitals receiving wounded civilians are overloaded, partly due to the number injured. There is an urgent need for blood products in the country.

In a positive development, he said that Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) announced they opened another health center in Carrefour, a neighborhood in Port-au-Prince.

"Humanitarian organizations need unhindered access to the most vulnerable people now," Dujarric said.

Henry assumed the president's role after President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in 2021.

The MSS, authorized by the UN Security Council, is not a UN mission as a regular UN peacekeeping mission would be. It is designed to bolster policing and a fund has been set up to finance it. Enditem

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