Haiti police arrest two more suspects in connection to President’s killing
Haiti’s police seized on Thursday at least two more suspected members of the gang of assassins that killed President Jovenel Moise, following a fierce battle that left bullets strewn in the capital's streets.
Hundreds of residents clamoured outside the police station where suspects were being held in Port-au-Prince, shouting “burn them” and setting fire to a vehicle they presumed was that of the assassins, according to footage streamed Haitian media outlets.
Moise, 53, was shot dead early on Wednesday at his home by what officials said was a commando of trained killers, pitching the poorest country in the Americas deeper into chaos amidst political divisions, hunger, and widespread gang violence.
Haiti’s police and army quickly tracked down and encircled the presumed assassins, including foreign mercenaries, officials said in a briefing late on Wednesday.
By then, security forces had already killed four suspects, apprehended two, and freed three police officers taken hostage.
One Livestream showed a police van carrying away two weary-looking suspects on Thursday, handcuffed together and guarded by balaclava-clad policemen wielding automatic rifles.
Another video shared on social media that Reuters was unable to verify immediately showed two suspects, one of whom was spattered with blood, tied up with rope, and being corralled by a mob of angry citizens.
Officials have not given a motive for the killing so far. Since he took office in 2017, Moise had faced mass protests against his rule – first over corruption allegations and his management of the economy, then over his increasing grip on power.
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