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| Two reporters and a police officer killed in shooting at Haiti hospital reopening | |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| Gunmen target press conference at Haiti’s largest public hospital after street gangs forced its closure earlier this year | |
| Two reporters and a police officer were killed and others injured on Tuesday when armed men opened fire on a group of journalists who gathered for a government press conference scheduled to announce the reopening of Haiti’s largest public hospital. | Two reporters and a police officer were killed and others injured on Tuesday when armed men opened fire on a group of journalists who gathered for a government press conference scheduled to announce the reopening of Haiti’s largest public hospital. |
| Street gangs forced the closure of the State University of Haiti hospital early this year and authorities had pledged to reopen the facility in the capital, Port-au-Prince, on Christmas Eve. But as journalists gathered to cover the event, the gunmen opened fire. | |
| Johnson “Izo” André, considered Haiti’s most powerful gang leader and part of a gang coalition known as Viv Ansanm that has taken control of much of Port-au-Prince, posted a video on social media claiming responsibility for the attack. | Johnson “Izo” André, considered Haiti’s most powerful gang leader and part of a gang coalition known as Viv Ansanm that has taken control of much of Port-au-Prince, posted a video on social media claiming responsibility for the attack. |
| The video said the gang coalition had not authorized the hospital’s reopening. | The video said the gang coalition had not authorized the hospital’s reopening. |
| Video posted online showed reporters inside the building and at least three lying on the floor, apparently wounded. The video could not be immediately verified. | Video posted online showed reporters inside the building and at least three lying on the floor, apparently wounded. The video could not be immediately verified. |
| Robest Dimanche, a spokesperson for the Online Media Collective, identified the killed journalists as Markenzy Nathoux and Jimmy Jean. The Haitian Association of Journalists confirmed two reporters and a police officer were killed, and seven reporters were wounded in what it called “a macabre scene comparable to terrorism, pure and simple”. | Robest Dimanche, a spokesperson for the Online Media Collective, identified the killed journalists as Markenzy Nathoux and Jimmy Jean. The Haitian Association of Journalists confirmed two reporters and a police officer were killed, and seven reporters were wounded in what it called “a macabre scene comparable to terrorism, pure and simple”. |
| “I send my sympathies to the people who were victims, the national police and the journalists,” Haiti’s interim president, Leslie Voltaire, said in an address to the nation. | “I send my sympathies to the people who were victims, the national police and the journalists,” Haiti’s interim president, Leslie Voltaire, said in an address to the nation. |
| Later, the government put out a statement saying it was “responding firmly to the attack”. | Later, the government put out a statement saying it was “responding firmly to the attack”. |
| “This heinous act, which targets an institution dedicated to health and life, constitutes an unacceptable attack on the very foundations of our society,” it said. | “This heinous act, which targets an institution dedicated to health and life, constitutes an unacceptable attack on the very foundations of our society,” it said. |
| Journalists were invited to arrive at the hospital from 8am to the press conference in downtown Port-au-Prince with Haiti’s new health minister. They were still awaiting the minister when shooting began at about 11am. | |
| The health minister, Duckenson Lorthe Blema, was installed in late November in a cabinet reshuffle when the former prime minister Garry Conille was ousted after just six months in office. | |
| The State University of Haiti hospital, known locally as the general hospital, is the country’s largest public hospital but it has been closed since a March surge in gang attacks that saw the former prime minister Ariel Henry ousted from power. | |
| Gang attacks have pushed Haiti’s health system to the brink of collapse, looting, setting fires and destroying medical institutions and pharmacies in the capital. The violence has created a surge in patients and a shortage of resources for treating them. | |
| Haiti’s healthcare system faces additional challenges from the rainy season, which is likely to increase the risk of water-borne diseases. Poor conditions in camps and makeshift settlements have heightened the risk of diseases such as cholera, with more than 84,000 suspected cases in the country, according to Unicef. | Haiti’s healthcare system faces additional challenges from the rainy season, which is likely to increase the risk of water-borne diseases. Poor conditions in camps and makeshift settlements have heightened the risk of diseases such as cholera, with more than 84,000 suspected cases in the country, according to Unicef. |
| Reuters and Associated Press contributed reporting | Reuters and Associated Press contributed reporting |