The Presidential Transitional Council (TPC), led by Leslie Voltaire, has pledged swift justice following a violent attack that claimed three lives, including two journalists, during the reopening of the capital’s primary public hospital on Christmas Eve.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to the families of all the victims, particularly the Haiti National Police and journalist associations,” Voltaire said. “This heinous act will not go unanswered.”

The victims were identified as a police officer and journalists Markenzy Nathoux and Jimmy Jean. The attack occurred when armed assailants opened fire on journalists, police, and medical staff gathered for the hospital’s reopening in Port-au-Prince.

The Viv Ansanm gang alliance, which exerts control over significant portions of the capital, claimed responsibility for the attack. Social media images from the scene depict multiple casualties and injured individuals inside the facility.

Journalists on site had been awaiting the arrival of Health Minister Lorthe Blema when the shooting occurred.

The Primature, the office of Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, wrote in a statement that officials remain determined to reopen the hospital.

“The imminent and safe reopening of the State University of Haiti Hospital will be tangible proof of the government’s determination to defend the interests of the population and to relentlessly combat the forces of chaos,” the statement said. “Justice will be served and hope will triumph.”

The hospital, which had been destroyed and occupied by gangs earlier this year, was reclaimed by the government in July.

In an online video, the Viv Ansanm gang said they had not given the government permission to reopen the hospital.

This attack is part of an ongoing surge of gang violence in Haiti, which escalated following the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Gangs are estimated to control 85 per cent of Port-au-Prince.

The UN has reiterated its call for urgent action to address Haiti’s security and humanitarian crisis.