A gang attack on the reopening of the largest public hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on November 24, 2024, killed two reporters and injured numerous more, according to the nation’s online media organization. The assault also killed a police officer.
The General Hospital in Haiti’s capital was forced to close early this year due to street gang activity, but authorities promised to reopen the hospital on Christmas Eve. Suspected gang members, however, started shooting as reporters gathered to cover the incident.
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It was the most recent wave of violence in Haiti, which has been devastated by an unheard-of crisis that has seen coordinated gang attacks on the main international airport, police stations, and prisons.
The Online Media Collective spokesperson, Robest Dimanche, named the journalists who were slain as Jimmy Jean and Markenzy Nathoux. Dimanche attributed the incident to the gang alliance Viv Ansanm and alleged an unknown number of reporters were also involved.
The Haitian Association of Journalists stated that seven reporters were injured in what it described as “a macabre scene comparable to terrorism, pure and simple, “while two reporters and a police officer were slain.
In a speech to the country, Haiti’s acting president, Leslie Voltaire, stated that the attack had targeted both police and journalists. He did not give a breakdown or state the exact number of casualties.
Voltaire stated, “I send my sympathies to the people who were victims, the national police and the journalists.”
The administration then issued a statement stating that it is “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 noted.
Earlier, a video that the reporters who were confined to the hospital uploaded online purportedly showed two men’s lifeless bodies on stretchers with bloodied clothing. One of the men had a press badge around his neck on a lanyard.
At first, Radio Télé Métronome said that two police officers and seven journalists had been injured. Requests for information on the attack were not immediately answered by authorities or police.
Reporters were seen inside the building and at least three were seen lying on the floor, perhaps injured, in another internet video that was also not immediately verifiable.
An estimated 85% of Port-au-Prince has been overrun by street gangs, who have also attacked Haiti’s two biggest prisons and the main international airport.
Johnson “Izo” André, a member of the Viv Ansanm gang, which has taken over most of Port-au-Prince, is regarded as Haiti’s most powerful gang boss. He claimed credit for the attack in a video that was shared on social media.
According to the video, the gang coalition had not approved the hospital’s reopening.
Targeting journalists has happened in Haiti before. The deaths of two local journalists occurred within a few weeks in 2023: journalist Ricot Jean was discovered dead later that month, and radio reporter Dumesky Kersaint was shot dead in mid-April.
Former Prime Minister Garry Conille paid a visit to the State University of Haiti Hospital, also referred to as the General Hospital, in July following the government’s takeover of the facility by gangs.
The debris had been scattered and the hospital was in ruins. Bullet holes on the walls and surrounding buildings indicated gang and police fighting. Across the street from the hospital lies the National Palace, which has seen many fights in recent months.
Gang attacks have destroyed hospitals and pharmacies in the city, set fires, and looted, bringing Haiti’s health system dangerously close to collapse. There is a paucity of resources to address the increased number of patients brought on by the violence.
The rainy season presents additional difficulties for Haiti’s healthcare system and raises the possibility of water-borne illnesses. Over 84,000 cases of cholera are suspected nationwide, according to UNICEF, because of the unfavorable circumstances in camps and temporary settlements.
