Armed men open fire on journalists during the reopening of the hospital in Haiti Crime news

Haitian authorities have struggled to deal with the rise of powerful armed gangs, and accountability for the violence is rare.

Gunmen have opened fire on a group of journalists in Haiti who had gathered to cover the reopening of the capital’s largest public hospital.

While authorities have not offered details on the victims of Tuesday’s attack, Reuters news agency reported that two journalists and a police officer were killed, citing a reporter who witnessed the attack. and asked not to be named.

“We express our condolences to all the families of the victims, in particular, to the PNH (National Police of Haiti) and to all associations of journalists,” Haiti’s transitional presidential council said in a social media post. social

“We guarantee that this act will not be without consequences.”

The attack is the latest to hit Haiti, where continued political and economic instability has helped fuel rising violence. armed gangs which have become more powerful since the assassination of the former president Jovenel Moise in 2021.

Police authorities in the island nation have struggled to counter criminal gangs, which have exerted control over roughly 80 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince, where widespread violence has hit civilians and disrupted. vital services.

One institution forced to close in March was the General Hospital, the country’s largest public hospital. Journalists had gathered on Tuesday morning to cover the reopening of the facility when gunmen opened fire around 11 a.m. (1600 GMT), Reuters reported.

Government officials had gathered to reopen the hospital in downtown Port-au-Prince in July, but that event was also the target of gunfire, forcing former prime minister Garry Conille to flee the scene.

An unverified video posted online on Tuesday appears to show three journalists lying injured on the floor of the building. A recent United Nations report stated that only 24 percent of health facilities in the Port-au-Prince area they are operational.

Johnson “Izo” Andre, a powerful gang leader in a coalition known as Viv Ansanm, posted a video on social media on Tuesday taking credit for the attack.