Haiti in shock after the assassination of its president

Haiti in shock after the assassination of its president, four "mercenaries" killed

President Moses was killed at his home by an armed commando around 01:00 local time, on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. According to the judge in charge of the case, quoted by the local press, his body was found riddled with 12 bullets, and his office and bedroom had been ransacked.

His wife was injured and evacuated to Florida for treatment.

According to acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph, the assailants were "foreigners who spoke English and Spanish".

Police said Wednesday night they had chased suspected members of the commando immediately after the attack and were still "engaged in battle with these assailants". 

"Since that night we have been fighting against them," the director general of Haiti's national police, Léon Charles, said in a television address.

"Four mercenaries were killed, two were intercepted under our control," he added. "Three policemen who had been taken hostage have been recovered," he said.

No further information on the perpetrators of the murder was disclosed.

- First lady "out of danger" 

Earlier, Prime Minister Claude Joseph announced in a speech in Creole that he had decided to "declare a state of siege throughout the country", granting increased powers to the executive for a fortnight.Calling on the population to calm down, he promised that "the murderers would pay for what they have done in court".