A Haiti gang attack on the reopening of a main hospital kills 2 reporters and a police officer

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Two reporters were killed and several were wounded Tuesday in a gang attack in Haiti on the reopening of Port-au-Prince’s biggest public hospital, the country's online media association said. A police officer was also killed in the attack.

Street gangs forced the closure of the General Hospital early this year and authorities had pledged to reopen the facility in Haiti's capital on Christmas Eve. But as journalists gathered to cover the event, suspected gang members opened fire.

It was the latest violence in Haiti, crippled by an unprecedented crisis that has seen coordinated gang attacks on prisons, police stations and the main international airport.

Robest Dimanche, a spokesman for the Online Media Collective, identified the killed journalists as Markenzy Nathoux and Jimmy Jean. Dimanche said an unspecified number of reporters were also been in the attack, which he blamed on the Viv Ansanm coalition of gangs.

The Haitian Association of Journalists confirmed two reporters and a police officer were killed, and seven reporters were wounded in what it called “a macabre scene comparable to terrorism, pure and simple.”

Haiti’s interim president, Leslie Voltaire, said in an address to the nation that journalists and police were among the victims of the attack. He did not specify the casualty numbers or provide a breakdown.

“I send my sympathies to the people who were victims, the national police and the journalists,” Voltaire said.

Later, the government put out a statement saying it is “responding firmly to the attack."

"This heinous act, which targets an institution dedicated to health and life, constitutes an unacceptable attack on the very foundations of our society," it said.

Earlier, a video posted online by the reporters trapped inside the hospital shows what appeared to be two lifeless bodies of men on stretchers, their clothes bloodied. One of the men had a lanyard with a press credential around his neck.

Radio Télé Métronome initially reported that seven journalists and two police officers were wounded. Police and officials did not immediately respond to calls for information on the attack.

Another video posted online, which also could not be immediately verified, showed reporters inside the building and at least three lying on the floor, apparently wounded.

Street gangs have taken over an estimated 85% of Port-au-Prince and have also targeted the main international airport and Haiti’s two largest prisons.

Johnson “Izo” André, considered Haiti’s most powerful gang leader and part of the Viv Ansanm group of gangs, which that has taken control of much of Port-au-Prince, posted a video on social media claiming responsibility for the attack.

The video said the gang coalition had not authorized the hospital’s reopening.

Haiti has seen journalists targeted before. In 2023, two local journalists were killed in the space of a couple of weeks — radio reporter Dumesky Kersaint was fatally shot in mid-April that year, while journalist Ricot Jean was found dead later that month.

In July, former Prime Minister Garry Conille visited the Hospital of the State University of Haiti, more widely known as the General Hospital, after authorities regained control of it from gangs.

The hospital had been left ravaged and strewn with debris. Walls and nearby buildings were riddled with bullet holes, signaling fights between police and gangs. The hospital is across the street from the national palace, the scene of several battles in recent months.

Gang attacks have pushed Haiti’s health system to the brink of collapse with looting, setting fires, and destroying medical institutions and pharmacies in the capital. The violence has created a surge in patients and a shortage of resources to treat them.

Haiti’s health care system faces additional challenges during the rainy season, which is likely to increase the risk of water-borne diseases. Poor conditions in camps and makeshift settlements have heightened the risk of diseases like cholera, with over 84,000 suspected cases in the country, according to UNICEF.

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People help a wounded journalist who was shot by armed gangs at the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jean Feguens Regala)

Journalists sit wounded after being shot by armed gangs at the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jean Feguens Regala)

Journalists climb up a wall to take cover from gunfire, after being shot at by armed gangs at the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jean Feguens Regala)

A wounded journalist talks on the phone after being shot by armed gangs at the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jean Feguens Regala)

A wounded security officer looks on after being shot by armed gangs at the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jean Feguens Regala)

Medics inspect an ambulance of wounded people, shot by armed gangs at the General Hospital, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

The wife of a journalist, who was shot during an armed gang attack on the General Hospital, cries as an ambulance arrives with his body, at a different hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

The wife of a journalist, who was shot during an armed gang attack on the General Hospital, cries as an ambulance arrives with his body, at a different hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Residents walk past cars set on fire by armed gangs in the Poste Marchand neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Journalists lie wounded after being shot by armed gangs at the general hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Dieugo Andre)

NEW DELHI (AP) — Shyam Benegal, a renowned Indian filmmaker known for pioneering a cinema movement that tackled social issues in the 1970s, has died after chronic kidney disease. He was 90.

His contribution to cinema was recognized as a director, editor and screenwriter. He came into the limelight with films — Ankur (1974), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976) and Bhumika (1977) — that challenged mainstream Bollywood by dealing with the social realities of a poor nation.

Benegal died Monday at Mumbai’s Wockhardt Hospital, and his cremation will take place on Tuesday, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, citing his daughter Piya.

"Benegal had been suffering from chronic kidney disease for several years but it had gotten very bad,” Piya said.

Many paid tribute to the filmmaker on social media platform X.

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt wrote that Benegal told stories without pretense. "They were raw and real, about the struggles of ordinary people. His films had craft and conviction.”

"Deeply saddened by the passing of Shyam Benegal, whose storytelling had a profound impact on Indian cinema. His works will continue to be admired by people from different walks of life," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted.

Benegal was a mentor to top Indian actors including Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri who made their mark in Bollywood’s popular cinema as well.

"I have lost my foster father, a man to whom I owe more than I can say,” Shah posted.

"Shyam Benegal was not just a legend; he was a visionary who redefined storytelling and inspired generations,” said actor Manoj Bajpayee.

The film Ankur explored the feudal divide in India, while Manthan was based on the story of the country’s cooperative dairy milk movement.

Benegal also was widely known for “Bharat Ek Khoj,” a landmark 53-episode television series based on the book “Discovery of India,” written by India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. It chronicled the country’s troubled passages, from ancient times to modernity.

He also directed a 2023 biopic on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led Bangladesh’s freedom struggle against Pakistan in the 1970s. Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India in August following a student movement, is the daughter of Rahman.

Benegal was born in 1934 in Hyderabad in southern India. He earned an economics degree from Hyderabad’s Osmania University and established the Hyderabad Film Society. He also ventured into advertising, where he directed over 900 sponsored documentaries and advertising films.

Benegal also is survived by his wife, Nira Benegal.

Friends and relatives pay homage to Shyam Benegal, a renowned Indian filmmaker who passed away on Monday, during Benegal's funeral in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Indian film maker and poet Gulzar, left, pay homage to Shyam Benegal, a renowned Indian filmmaker who passed away on Monday, during Benegal's funeral in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Indian actress Ila Arun, left, pay homage to Shyam Benegal, a renowned Indian filmmaker who passed away on Monday, during Benegal's funeral in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Bollywood actors Boman Irani, right, and Naseeruddin Shah pay homage to Shyam Benegal, a renowned Indian filmmaker who passed away on Monday, during Benegal's funeral in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Bollywood actor Boman Irani, right, pays homage to Shyam Benegal, a renowned Indian filmmaker who passed away on Monday, during Benegal's funeral in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Police officers carry the body of Shyam Benegal, a renowned Indian filmmaker who passed away on Monday, during Benegal's funeral in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

FILE - Indian film directors Shyam Benegal, right, is seen during a discussion on Indian Cinema in Hyderabad, India, Monday, Feb. 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A, File)