A gang alliance in Haiti claimed responsibility on Wednesday for the attack at the country's largest hospital in Port-au-Prince in which two journalists and a policeman were shot dead.
The attack, which also left several others wounded, took place during a press conference on Tuesday night to announce the reopening of the General Hospital where services had been disrupted for several months due to gang violence.
Johnson “Izo” André, considered Haiti’s most powerful gang leader and part of the Viv Ansanm group of gangs that has taken control of large parts of the capital, posted a video on social media claiming responsibility for the attack.
The video said the gang coalition had not authorised the hospital’s reopening.
The National Palace security unit intervened to evacuate the injured who were taken to other medical centres..
Following the shootings, Haiti’s interim president, Leslie Voltaire, said in an address to the nation: “I send my sympathies to the people who were victims, the national police and the journalists.
"What happened today at the General Hospital, in the middle of the Christmas celebrations, is unacceptable. This act will not go unpunished."
The government said later it would respond 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 said in a statement.
Robest Dimanche, a spokesman for the Online Media Collective, identified the victims as Markenzy Nathoux and Jimmy Jean.
The Haitian Association of Journalists issued a statement condemning the attack. "It is a macabre scene comparable to terrorism, pure and simple,” it said.
Return
Street gangs forced the closure of the General Hospital earlier this year. The Minister of Health, Duckenson Lorthé Blém, had pledged to reopen the facility before the new year.
But the move backfired in the latest show of gang violence that has targeted prisons, police stations and the main international airport.
At the beginning of December, at least 207 people were killed in attacks ordered by a powerful gang leader against alleged members of a voodoo cult.
Gang attacks have pushed Haiti's health system to the verge of collapse with looting and arson attacks on medical centres and pharmacies in the capital. The violence has created a surge in patients and a shortage of resources to treat them.
Haiti’s health care system faces additional challenges during the rainy season, which is likely to increase the risk of water-borne diseases.
Poor conditions in the camps and makeshift settlements for the people fleeing the gang violence have heightened the risk of diseases like cholera, with more than 84,000 suspected cases in the country, according to the UN health agency UNICEF.
Additional reporting Peterson Luxama in Port-au-Prince
