Gangs in Haiti attack journalists covering the attempted reopening of the country’s main hospital
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Suspected gang members opened fire on journalists in Haiti’s capital on Tuesday as they covered the attempted reopening of the country’s largest hospital, according to a local radio station.
Radio Télé Métronome said seven journalists and two police officers were wounded. Police did not immediately respond to calls.
Street gangs have taken over an estimated 80% of Port-au-Prince. They forced the closure of the General Hospital early this year during violence that also targeted the main international airport and Haiti’s two largest prisons.
Authorities had pledged to reopen the facility Tuesday. But as journalists gathered to cover the event, suspected gang members opened fire.
Video posted online showed reporters inside the building and at least three lying on the floor, apparently wounded. The video could not be immediately verified.
Johnson “Izo” André, considered Haiti’s most powerful gang leader and part of a gang coalition known as Viv Ansanm that has taken control of much of Port-au-Prince, posted a video on social media claiming responsibility for the attack.
The video said the gang coalition had not authorized the hospital’s reopening.
Former Prime Minister Garry Conille visited the Hospital of the State University of Haiti, more widely known as the General Hospital, in July after authorities regained control of it from gangs.
The hospital had been left ravaged and strewn with debris. Walls and nearby buildings were riddled with bullet holes, signaling fights between police and gangs. The hospital is across the street from the national palace, the scene of several battles in recent months.
Gang attacks have pushed Haiti’s health system to the brink of collapse, looting, setting fires, and destroying medical institutions and pharmacies in the capital. The violence has created a surge in patients and a shortage of resources for treating them.
Haiti’s health care system faces additional challenges from the rainy season, which is likely to increase the risk of water-borne diseases. Poor conditions in camps and makeshift settlements have heightened the risk of diseases like cholera, with over 84,000 suspected cases in the country, according to UNICEF.
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