Two Haitian reporters have been shot dead and their bodies set on fire while reporting in a slum controlled by gangs in the capital, in the second such killing this year.
Tayson Latigue and Frantzsen Charles were among seven journalists who came under attack on Sunday in the Cité Soleil district of Port-au-Prince. They were investigating worsening violence in the area, including the recent killing of a 17-year-old girl, according to a statement from Haiti’s Association of Independent Journalists.
Dieudonné St-Cyr, a reporter with the association, told radio station Métropole Haiti that the journalists were ambushed by two warring gangs that he did not identify. He said the five other reporters fled unharmed, adding that the bodies of the two victims had not been recovered.
The organization condemned what it called a “villainous and odious act” and demanded that the government improve the country’s worsening insecurity amid a surge in killings and kidnappings. Gangs have grown more powerful since 7 July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
“The journalists were just doing their job,” the group said. “They didn’t commit any crime.”
The organization said the killings were “further proof of the inability of the state to protect lives and property, which is nothing other than a violation of human rights”.
The prime minister, Ariel Henry, also condemned the killings, saying he was “profoundly shocked” at the deaths.
“We strongly condemn this barbaric act, while sending our heartfelt thoughts to the families of the victims and their colleagues,” he tweeted.
In January, two other journalists were killed by gang members while reporting in Laboule, a troubled area south of Port-au-Prince.
In addition, journalists are still demanding answers about the March 2018 disappearance of freelance photographer Vladjimir Legagneur, who was last seen in the Grand Ravine area, one of the poorest and most dangerous districts in Port-au-Prince.
