BREAKING: Haiti’s President, Jovenel Moïse Assassinated

President Jovenel Moïse has been assassinated in an attack on his home, according to a statement from the country’s interim prime minister, who called the killing a “hateful, inhumane and barbaric act”.

A group of unidentified individuals attacked Moise’s private residence overnight on Wednesday and shot him dead, interim Premier Claude Joseph said.

First Lady Martine Moïse was shot in the attack and hospitalised, Joseph said.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, was already in a precarious political situation before the assassination, having grown increasingly unstable and disgruntled under Moïse.

Moise, who was 53, ruled by decree for more than two years after the country failed to hold elections and the opposition demanded he step down in recent months.

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“The country’s security situation is under the control of the National Police of Haiti and the Armed Forces of Haiti,” Joseph said in a statement from his office. “Democracy and the republic will win.”

In the early morning hours of Wednesday, the streets were largely empty in the Caribbean nation’s capital of Port-au-Prince, but some people ransacked businesses in one area. After the attack, gunshots could be heard throughout the capital.

Joseph said police have been deployed to the National Palace and the upscale community of Pétionville and will be sent to other areas.

Joseph condemned the assassination as a “hateful, inhumane and barbaric act”. He said some of the attackers spoke in Spanish but offered no further explanation.

(This story excluding headline contains information from Aljazeera)