Deep emotion in Haiti after the death of at least 70 people, killed by a gang

Photo: Ramon Espinosa Associated Press Haitian law enforcement is having a hard time opposing the heavily armed gangs that have been wreaking havoc in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and its surrounding areas for many months.

Agence France-Presse in Port-au-Prince

Published at 1:12 p.m. Updated at 3:09 p.m.

• Amériques

The Haitian government on Friday strongly condemned the “unspeakable brutality” of the attack carried out by a gang the day before in a small town and which left at least 70 dead, including women and children, according to the UN.

Members of an armed gang attacked Pont Sondé, a town about 100 km northwest of the capital Port-au-Prince, on Thursday, shooting at residents and burning dozens of homes and vehicles.

“Members of the gang “Gran Grif”, armed with automatic rifles, fired on residents, killing at least 70 people, including about 10 women and three infants,” the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement on Friday, saying it was “horrified.”

According to the UN, the gang members “allegedly set fire to at least 45 homes and 34 vehicles,” forcing residents to flee.

This “attack of unspeakable brutality” was carried out “as early as 3 a.m. and targeted “innocent civilians,” the Haitian government said in a statement on X.

He announced that he had sent reinforcements to the area, including units specialized in the fight against gangs and supported by the multinational police force, led by Kenya.

“Other specialized units are preparing to be deployed from Port-au-Prince,” the statement said.

“The most absolute cowardice”

“Today, once again, once too often, we are faced with the most absolute cowardice,” condemned Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille, castigating “a heinous crime” perpetrated “against the entire Haitian nation.”

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

A small, poor country in the Caribbean, Haiti is ravaged for years by gang violence, coupled with a severe humanitarian, economic and political crisis.

At least 3,661 people have been killed in the country since January due to the violence, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said last week.

The leader of the “Gran Grif” (Big Claw) gang, Luckson Elan, has been targeted by US sanctions since September for his involvement in serious human rights violations.

According to Bertide Horace, spokesperson for a local association, Mr. Elan had threatened to attack residents of Pont Sondé because of a conflict over the road linking the capital Port-au-Prince to Cap-Haïtien.

This killing follows “the refusal of certain drivers from Pont Sondé to pay the gang money demanded at a toll booth that it set up on the national road,” she assured during an interview on local radio Magik 9.

“The bandits invaded the town and executed dozens of residents. “Nearly all of the victims were killed by a bullet to the head,” she said, accusing the “police stationed nearby” and “apparently understaffed” of having “put up no resistance to the thugs.”

The attack also left at least 16 people seriously injured, according to the UN, including two gang members who were hit during an exchange of fire with the Haitian police.

Wave of violence

This tragedy comes at a time when the multinational police mission, which is supposed to support the Haitian police in their fight against armed gangs, is struggling to produce concrete results due to a lack of sufficient resources.

The The UN High Commissioner has called for “an increase in international financial and logistical assistance” to this force, composed mainly of Kenyan police officers.

Read also

• In Haiti, the results of the multinational security force are still awaited
• The multinational security mission in Haiti extended by one year
• In New York, Trudeau reaffirms Canada's continued support for Haiti

“It is also essential that the authorities conduct a prompt and thorough investigation into this attack, prosecute those allegedly responsible, and guarantee reparations to the victims and their families,” the High Commission.

A wish that is likely to remain a dead letter, given the fragility of the country's institutions.

The wave of violence and a catastrophic humanitarian situation have forced more than 700,000 people, half of them children, to flee their homes to seek refuge elsewhere in the country, according to the latest figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) published on Wednesday.

Around three-quarters of these internally displaced people are now housed in the country's provinces, with the Grand Sud region alone hosting 45%, according to the UN agency.