President of Haiti, Jovenel Moise has been assassinated in his home.

According to a statement from the country’s interim prime minister, Claude Joseph, a group of unidentified individuals attacked Moise’s private residence overnight on Wednesday and shot him dead.

He also added that First Lady Martine Moïse was shot in the attack and hospitalised.

“The country’s security situation is under the control of the National Police of Haiti and the Armed Forces of Haiti,” Joseph said.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, was already in a precarious political situation before the assassination.

53-year-old Moise had ruled by decree for more than a year after the country failed to hold legislative elections and wanted to push through a controversial constitutional reform.