"Abominable act" in Haiti Gangs shoot at most important hospital - at least three dead
The violence in Haiti has claimed several victims at the general hospital in Port-au-Prince.
Image: dpa
The wife of one of the victims of the attack raises her arms in despair.
Image: dpa
The violence in Haiti has claimed several victims at the general hospital in Port-au-Prince.
Image: dpa
The wife of one of the victims of the attack raises her arms in despair.
Image: dpa
Gang violence is claiming more and more victims in Haiti. Now shots have been fired at the country's most important public hospital.
25.12.2024, 07:10
25.12.2024, 08:41
dpa
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- In Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, at least three people have been killed in an attack by suspected gang members on the country's largest hospital.
- The Haitian transitional government condemned the attack as an unacceptable act of aggression.
- Despite an international security mission, the situation remains tense, with hundreds of people killed by gang violence in December alone.
Suspected gang members shot at the largest hospital in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, killing at least three people, according to media reports. The victims were two journalists and a police officer who had gone to an event on Tuesday (local time) for the planned reopening of the hospital of the State University of Haiti.
The transitional government of the Caribbean state confirmed on Platform X that there were dead and injured. "This heinous act, directed against an institution dedicated to health and life, is an unacceptable act of aggression against the foundations of our society," it said.
Haiti has been suffering for years from the violence of heavily armed gangs that have Port-au-Prince largely under their control. President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in July 2021 under circumstances that have still not been fully clarified.
Gang violence led to the closure of the clinic
In March, an escalation of gang violence prevented the then interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry from returning from a trip abroad and forced him to resign. Alix Fils-Aimé is currently ruling as interim prime minister. The hospital of the State University, also known as the General Hospital, had to close due to the violence.
Even an international security mission under Kenyan leadership, which has sent several hundred foreign troops to Haiti since June, has so far been unable to provide security. According to a UN report on Monday, gang members killed at least 207 people in Cité Soleil, a particularly poor part of the capital, between December 6 and 11 alone.