Haiti: Gunshots wound 7 men setting up protest roadblock thumbnail

Haiti: Gunshots wound 7 men setting up protest roadblock

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Vendors scramble to pack up their goods and get inside, as protesters calling for President Jovenel Moïse march up a road in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Oct. 21, 2019. Anger over corruption, inflation and scarcity of basic goods including

The Associated Press

Vendors scramble to pack up their goods and get inside, as protesters calling for President Jovenel Moïse march up a road in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Oct. 21, 2019. Anger over corruption, inflation and scarcity of basic goods including fuel has led to large demonstrations that began more than a month ago and have shuttered many businesses and schools.(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Haitian police said seven young men were shot and wounded early Monday as they set up a roadblock as part of protests in the southern city of Jacmel.

Marc-André Cadostin, director of the southeast department of the National Police, said two of the men, ages 20 and 25, were transferred in critical condition to the capital, Port-au-Prince. The other five men were being treated at a local hospital, he said.

Cadostin said the men were setting a barricade built across a road on fire when unknown suspects began shooting.

He said the motive for the shooting was unknown, although tensions have been rising between government supporters and protesters after months of demonstrations seeking to force President Jovenel Moise to leave office.

With more protesters out on Haiti’s streets Monday, opponents of the president accuse him of complicity in massive corruption and of mismanaging the economy so badly that fuel is in short supply and many businesses have been forced to close by shortages and demonstrations.

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