New death toll of 70 from gang attack in Haiti far more than first estimate | Haiti
An attack on the Haitian breadbasket of Artibonite killed at least 70 people and injured 30, a human rights group said, far more than official estimates.
While the police initially reported that 16 people died and 10 people were injured, the preliminary report from civil protection authorities claimed that 17 people died and 19 people were injured.
Human Rights group Collective Defender, which reported the highest death toll, said Sunday’s “massacre” forced nearly 6,000 people to flee their homes.
“The lack of a security response and the release of Artibonite to armed groups shows a complete abdication of responsibility by the authorities,” the group said.
A spokesman for the UN secretary-general told reporters on Monday that he strongly condemned the mob attack. They said the violence showed the seriousness of the security situation in the country and called for a thorough investigation.
Armed members of the Gran Grif gang attacked the Jean-Denis area around 3 a.m. on Sunday, local civil protection officials said.
The attack follows UN reports that recent armed raids near Verrettes have displaced more than 2,000 people and sent Petite-Riviere residents fleeing their homes.
The Artibonite region, a major agricultural region, has seen some of Haiti’s worst violence, as gang fighting spread beyond the capital Port-au-Prince.
In March, the United States offered a reward of up to $3 million for information about the financial activities of the Gran Grif and Viv Ansanm groups. Washington has designated both as terrorist organizations, representing coalitions of hundreds of gangs.
Haitian security forces, backed by a UN-backed international mission and a private US military company, have intensified operations against gangs that control much of the capital. But authorities have yet to arrest any major gang leaders.
More than a million people have been displaced due to clashes with gangs that have worsened food insecurity, and close to 20,000 people have been reported killed in Haiti since 2021. The death toll increased every year.
