(Port-au-Prince) Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille was evacuated safely Monday from a neighborhood in the capital Port-au-Prince where gang members had opened fire, a government source told AFP.
The Haitian leader was finalizing a tour of the State University Hospital, the country’s largest hospital, when individuals opened fire with automatic weapons in the area, the government official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
In a video published by Haitian media, several police officers can be seen running for cover as gunshots ring out.
Mr. Conille was able to be safely evacuated from the scene, escorted by Haitian police and Kenyan agents from the multinational security mission supported by the UN, the source added.
The medical facility is located in a gang-ridden area in the centre of the capital.
The hospital itself was under gang control between late February and early July, when the national police managed to regain control.
No reports of possible casualties have been shared yet.
In recent months, violence in Port-au-Prince has worsened a serious humanitarian crisis, with the country now home to nearly 600,000 displaced people, a 60% increase since March, according to the UN.
The gangs that rule much of the capital are accused of numerous murders, rapes, looting and kidnappings for ransom, a situation that escalated earlier this year when they decided to join forces to overthrow the much-controversial former prime minister Ariel Henry.
Since Mr Henry’s departure, transitional authorities have been put in place to tackle getting the country back on its feet, with the support of a UN-backed multinational mission led by Kenya.
The task will be immense, in a country ravaged by violence and corruption and which has not had a president since the assassination of Jovenel Moïse in 2021.