Port Au Prince – President Jovenel Moise has been shot and killed by gunmen that included foreign elements, outgoing Prime Minister Claude Joseph has announced.
Moise’s wife was also injured during the incident on Wednesday and has been hospitalised.
Joseph has called on the population for calm and indicated that the police and the army would maintain order.
“It is with great sadness that we confirm the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, during an attack on his residence by mercenaries. The First Lady, injured, receives the necessary care. Our hearts go out to the presidential family and to the whole nation.”
According to the official statement, the attack on Moise took place at “around one o’clock [ocal time] in the morning, on the night of Tuesday July 6 to Wednesday July 7, 2021”.
It said that “a group of unidentified individuals, some of whom spoke in Spanish, attacked the private residence of the President of the Republic and thus mortally wounded the head of state”.
“Wounded by gunshot, the First Lady takes the care that her case requires.”
Joseph described the assassination as “an odious, inhuman and barbaric act”, and that the security situation in the country is under the control of the Haitian National Police and the Haitian Armed Forces.
“All measures are taken to guarantee the continuity of the state and protect the nation. Democracy and the Republic will win,” Joseph added. (CMC)