Monday, 23rd December 2024

Haiti: Prime Minister Ariel Henry survives assassination attempt

At least one person was killed and several others were injured when an armed gang attacked Prime Minister Ariel Henry and his entourage.

Monday, 3rd January 2022

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry

In the Haitian city of Gonaives, at least one person was killed and several others were injured when an armed gang attacked Prime Minister Ariel Henry and his entourage.

The incident happened when PM Henry was leaving a cathedral following a mass commemorating the country's 218th year of independence.

According to Haitian media, an unidentified person was murdered in the middle of combat in the Raboto region between an armed gang and security agents protecting Henry and other authorities.

There were no worshippers inside the Saint Charles de Borome parish, only local officials and a government delegation. Despite threats from the armed gang, who advised Henry not to come to the city, the ceremony went on.

The highly armed gangs in charge of the region opened fire on the government delegation. Simultaneously, the protective personnel retaliated to the onslaught by rushing the Prime Minister out of the building.

Henry was unable to complete the celebrations he had planned in the city to commemorate Haiti's independence from France due to the invasion.

The country is in the middle of a serious crisis in almost every aspect of life; one of the most difficult thing to overcome is the operation of heavily armed gangs that dominate parts of Port-au-Prince and other locations.

After the assassination of President Jovenel Moise by a commando who invaded his apartment without resistance in the early morning of July 7th, the situation in the poorest country in the northern hemisphere worsened even further.