Haitian President Jovenel Moise has been assassinated at home, according to the country's interim prime minister.

A group of unidentified individuals attacked the private residence of Mr Moise overnight and shot him dead, Claude Joseph said in a statement.

The first lady Martine Moïse is in hospital following the attack late on Tuesday, interim Premier Claude Joseph said.

Joseph called the killing a "hateful, inhumane and barbaric act," adding that Haiti's National Police and other authorities had the situation in Haiti under control.

The impoverished Caribbean country has faced political instability in recent months which has brought an eruption of violent protests, kidnappings and organised crime.

The country's leading opposition parties, the judiciary, and activist groups said Mr Moise's five-year term as president ended in February.

But the president claimed he had one year left in office since an interim government ran the country for a year after his election.