Security officers had to fire shots on Monday to ensure Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille’s safe exit from a hospital in Port-au-Prince, according to the prime minister’s office.
Conille was visiting Haiti’s largest hospital along with the head of the national police, Normil Rameu, and some journalists when gunfire erupted outside the building.
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The statement from the prime minister’s office mentioned that Conille had just finished recording an interview when the gunfire started. Security agents then fired a few shots to cover the group as they exited the hospital.
“The PM and his team left the hospital in complete safety and were escorted back to his office,” the statement confirmed.
No deaths or injuries were reported from the incident.
Earlier this month, Conille and Haiti’s police chief had visited the same hospital after authorities announced they had regained control of the facility from armed gangs. At that time, Conille described the ravaged hospital as a “war zone.”
Friday’s statement from Conille’s office said the hospital remains under the control of the Haitian National Police and the U.N.-supported multinational security mission led by Kenyan police, which aims to confront the criminal gangs causing widespread violence in Haiti.
These gangs have been looting, setting fires, and destroying medical institutions and pharmacies in the capital, where they control up to 80% of the area. Gunmen have also seized police stations, attacked the main international airport (forcing its closure for nearly three months), and stormed Haiti’s two largest prisons.
