Haiti's President Jovenel Moise speaks during the investiture ceremony of the independent advisory committee for the drafting of the new constitu

Haitian president assassinated at home in 'barbaric act' -PM

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2021-07-07 11:30:06

Haiti's President Jovenel Moise speaks during the investiture ceremony of the independent advisory committee for the drafting of the new constitution at the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti October 30, 2020. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares/File Photo

PORT-AU-PRINCE, July 7 (Reuters) - Haitian President Jovenel Moise was shot dead by unidentified attackers in his private residence overnight in an "inhuman and barbaric act" and his wife was injured, Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph said on Wednesday.

He said the police and army had the security situation under control but gunshots could be heard throughout the capital after the attack, which occurred amid a rising wave of politically linked violence in the impoverished Caribbean nation.

With Haiti politically divided, and facing a growing humanitarian crisis and shortages of food, there are fears of widespread disorder. The Dominican Republic said it was closing the border it shares with Haiti on the island of Hispaniola.