SECURITY officers have had to open fire to cover Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille’s exit from a hospital in Port-au-Prince.

Mr Conille was visiting Haiti’s largest hospital with national police chief Normil Rameu and some journalists on Monday when gunshots were heard outside the building, the prime minister’s office said.

According to a statement, Mr Conille had just finished recording an interview when the shots were heard. It said the security agents fired a few shots as the group left the building.

“The PM and his team left the hospital in complete safety and were escorted back to his office,” the statement said.

No deaths or injuries were reported.

Earlier this month, the prime minister and Mr Rameu visited the same hospital after authorities announced that they had regained control of the facility from armed gangs. 

At that time, Mr Conille described what was left of the ravaged hospital as a “war zone.”

Mr Conille’s office said on Friday that the hospital remains under the control of the Haitian National Police and the US-backed multinational security mission, led by Kenyan police, that has been sent to Haiti to quell gang violence.