Two reporters, policeman killed in Haiti gang attack

Funeral ceremony of Mario Jn Louis, a police officer killed by armed gangs during an operation at Solino on December 6, in Port-au-Prince on December 19, 2024. [AFP]

Two journalists covering the reopening of a hospital in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and a police officer were shot dead Tuesday in an attack by gang members, a local media collective and authorities said.

Journalists Markenzy Nathoux and Jimmy Jean were killed "during an attack by bandits from the coalition 'Viv Ansanm' ('Living Together')" at the State University of Haiti Hospital, Robest Dimanche, spokesperson for the Online Media Collective, told AFP.

Other journalists were wounded in the shootout and were being treated at another clinic, Dimanche added.

A police officer was also killed, Haitian National Police spokesman Lionel Lazarre told AFP, without providing further details.

The State University of Haiti Hospital, also known as General Hospital, had been closed since February after it was attacked by members of the same gang coalition.

According to initial reports, assailants opened fire at the clinic as it was being reopened. A witness told AFP that some people had been wounded, but could not say how many.

"Journalists injured during an armed attack by the bandits of Viv Ansanm" on General Hospital, local news outlet Gazette Haiti reported on X, posting photos of wounded people lying on the hospital floor.

The newspaper described scenes of "total panic in the city centre."

Radio Tele Gelaxie also reported the attack and said that several journalists had been hit by gunfire.

Leslie Voltaire, president of Haiti's transitional ruling council, termed the shooting "unacceptable."

"We send our sympathies to the families of the victims, and particularly the police and journalist associations. We assure them that this attack will not stand without consequences," he said.

Last week, Viv Ansanm set fire to another clinic in Port-au-Prince, the Bernard Mevs Hospital. Nobody was hurt, but a large part of the facility was destroyed.

Tuesday's shooting is the latest instance of growing turmoil in the capital of the beleaguered Caribbean nation, where attacks by armed gangs have been escalating in multiple neighbourhoods for more than a month.

In early December, nearly 200 people were killed in a massacre led by a "powerful gang leader" against "voodoo practitioners," according to the United Nations and a local NGO.

A multinational mission in support of Haitian police, led by Kenya and backed by the UN and the United States, has had little impact on the frequency of attacks by armed groups, who are accused of committing numerous murders, rapes, looting and kidnappings for ransom.

The attacks have also targeted key buildings and infrastructure, which forced the closure of the capital's airport to commercial flights in November.