Two journalists killed by gangs in Haiti capital – local media group
Police patrol around Bernard Mevs hospital where armed gangs have spread violence in Port-au-Prince on December 17, 2024. (Photo by Clarens SIFFROY / AFP)
Two journalists covering the reopening of a hospital in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince were killed Tuesday in a shootout involving gang members, a local media collective told Agence France-Presse.
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 said.
Other journalists were injured in the shootout and are being treated at another clinic, Dimanche added.
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 as Tuesday’s attack.
According to initial reports, assailants opened fire at the clinic as it was being reopened. A witness told AFP that some people sustained injuries, but couldn’t say how many.
Article continues after this advertisement“Journalists injured during an armed attack by the bandits of Viv Ansanm” on General Hospital, Gazette Haiti said on X, posting photos of injured people lying on the hospital floor.
Article continues after this advertisement“Journalists and other press workers… inside the building. It is total panic in the city center,” the newspaper added.
Radio Tele Gelaxie also reported an attack on General Hospital and said that several journalists had been hit by gunfire.
Last week, Viv Ansanm set fire to another clinic in the capital Port-au-Prince, Bernard Mevs. Nobody was hurt, but a large part of the hospital 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 neighborhoods for over 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 also target key buildings and infrastructure, which forced the closure of the capital’s airport to commercial flights in November.
