In a mass attack in Haiti on Tuesday, two journalists were killed and several others injured as Port-au-Prince’s largest public hospital reopened. The Associated Press Reported.
The Haitian capital’s general hospital was forced to close by street gangs earlier this year, but the administration has promised to reopen the facility in Port-au-Prince. But as journalists gathered to cover the reopening of the hospital, suspected gang members opened fire.
A police officer was also killed in an attack by gang members on Christmas Eve, but the officer’s condition is not yet known. Ap Reported.
The dead journalists have been identified as Markenzie Nathoux and Jimmy Jean. Online Media Collective spokesman Robust Dimanche said an unknown number of journalists were also under attack.
The wife of a journalist who was shot dead during an attack by an armed gang at the General Hospital, wept Tuesday as an ambulance arrived at another hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (AP Photo)
Haiti’s interim president Leslie Voltaire condemned the attack, saying journalists and police were among the victims, but did not say how many were killed.
“I send my sympathies to the victims, the national police and the journalists,” Voltaire said.
His government said in a statement that it was “resolutely responding to the attack”. “This heinous act of targeting an institution dedicated to health and life is an unacceptable attack on the foundations of our society,” the government added.
According to ApRadio Tele Metronome had earlier posted that seven journalists and two police officers were injured in an attack by suspected gangs during the re-opening of the hospital.
In an alleged video posted online, Johnson “Izo” Andre, who is considered one of Haiti’s most powerful gang leaders, claimed responsibility for the attack. The video allegedly claims that the coalition gang has not authorized the reopening of the hospital.
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