Unidentified gunmen have shot Haitian President Jovenel Moïse dead at his private residence in Port-au-Prince overnight on Wednesday, interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph said.
The United States is deeply concerned about Haiti's fragile institutions after fresh political turmoil engulfed the volatile Caribbean nation over the weekend and the government of President Jovenel Moise forcibly retired three Supreme Court judges who posed a threat to his leadership.
The UN Security Council ended 15 years of peacekeeping operations in Haiti on Tuesday, voicing regret that the country is still saddled with huge economic, political and social woes. The United Nations first sent peacekeepers to Haiti after then-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overthrown by the army in 2004 under the pressure of a popular uprising.
A magnitude 5.2 aftershock struck Haiti on Sunday, even as survivors of the previous day’s temblor were sifting through the rubble of their cinder block homes. The death toll stood at 12, with fears it could rise. The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter of the aftershock was located 15.8 kilometers north-northwest of Port-de-Paix, the city hard hit by Saturday night’s 5.9 magnitude earthquake. Sunday’s aftershock had a depth of 10 kilometers.
The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (EOM/OAS) in Haiti welcomed the announcement of the final results of the presidential election held on November 20, 2016.