Haitian President Jovenel Moise was shot dead by unidentified attackers at his private resident overnight on Wednesday. According to the Haitian Prime Minister, his wife has been injured in the incident.

The Haitian Police shot four people following the incident who were suspected of being part of the assassination.

Moïse, 53, was killed in his home in an affluent suburb of the city in the early hours of Wednesday. The government blamed “a group of unidentified individuals, some of whom were speaking Spanish”.

Acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph, who is now leading the country, declared a state of siege in Haiti and closed the Port au Prince international airport.

The president was assassinated at his home by foreigners who spoke English and Spanish," Joseph told the AFP news agency.

He labeled the assassination a "hateful, inhumane and barbaric act," saying the killers had used "high-caliber weapons."

In an appearance, late Wednesday with Joseph, police chief Leon Charles said that four of the presumed attackers had been killed and two arrested. 

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