Haiti PM flees under gunfire as Haiti rings in new year

By HAROLD ISAAC
Associated Press

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti has welcomed the new year with violence as Prime Minister Ariel Henry fled the northern city of Gonaïves following a shootout between his security forces and an armed group that had warned the leader not to set foot in the city. Local media reported that one person died and two were injured in the gunfire that forced Henry and others to duck and seek shelter as they walked out of a cathedral Saturday after attending a mass to celebrate Haiti’s independence from France. The incident is a fresh blow to Henry’s fragile interim regime that is struggling with deepening poverty and a surge in gang violence.