The United Nations secretary-general joined the Haitian prime minister Friday in strongly condemning a horrific overnight gang attack on a town outside Haiti's capital that killed at least 70 people, including at least 10 women and three infants.
"The criminals responsible for these abominable acts will be hunted down and brought to justice, without respite," Prime Minister Garry Conille said in a statement.
Haiti's transition government said members of the Gran Grif gang perpetrated the attack in the town of Pont Sonde in the Artibonite department. A report in the Haiti Gazette said the gang was trying to extort money from the local population and they resisted paying it. The massacre was retribution.
The U.N. human rights office said gang members firing automatic rifles also reportedly set fire to at least 45 houses and 34 vehicles, forcing a number of residents to flee. At least 3,000 people have been displaced by the attack.
A number of people were also wounded, including two gang members. Sixteen people suffered serious injuries, the U.N. said. The government said many of the injured are being treated at the Saint-Nicolas public hospital in Saint-Marc.
"As gang violence continues to spread from the capital to other departments of Haiti, the secretary-general stresses the importance of the joint efforts undertaken by the Haitian National Police and the multinational security support mission," Antonio Guterres' spokesperson told reporters Friday. "Those efforts need to be supported."
In June, a multinational security support mission, or MSS, began its first deployment of about 400 police from Kenya, which is also leading the mission. About 100 others from Jamaica and Belize have also been deployed to assist the embattled Haitian National Police in subduing armed gangs, which have been terrorizing the country's capital and some outer lying areas. Other countries are expected to contribute police officers to the force.
The mission has been beset with delays and financial and equipment shortages. But it has had some success inside the capital.
The government said agents from the Haitian National Police Anti-Gang Unit have been deployed as reinforcements to support teams already on the ground in Artibonite. Specialized police units supported by the MSS are also deploying to the area.
Haiti has been rocked by instability since 2021, when President Jovenel Moise was assassinated. Prime Minister Ariel Henry then led the country until he announced his resignation in March. A transitional government is now in place with the goal of organizing free and fair elections. Haiti has not held elections since 2016.
The country is facing a massive humanitarian crisis due to the violence. On Monday, international food monitors said more than half the country's population — 5.4 million people — are struggling to feed themselves. At least 6,000 displaced persons in shelters in the capital are facing catastrophic levels of hunger, while 2 million people are one step behind them.
