At least 70 have been killed in the Haiti massacre, a rights group says, exceeding the official toll

At least 70 have been killed in the Haiti massacre, a rights group says, exceeding the official toll

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  • Human rights groups say 70 are dead, officials say 16
  • The rights group estimates that 6,000 people have been displaced by the violence
  • The Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations is calling for a thorough investigation

PORT-AU-PRINCE, March 30 (Reuters) – At least 70 people were killed and 30 wounded in an attack near Petite-Riviere in Haiti’s Artibonite region, a human rights group said on Monday, much higher than official estimates that put the death toll at around 16.

Residents and officials told local media that the attack began on Sunday morning in rural areas near Jean-Denis, and continued until Monday morning, with gang members attacking the area and burning houses.

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The group Defenceurs Plus says it is estimated that 6,000 people have left their homes because of the violence. The UN estimated that more than 2,000 people have fled their homes in recent days following attacks by nearby armed gangs.

Police initially reported 16 dead and 10 injured, while a preliminary report from public security authorities said 17 dead and 19 injured, mostly men.

A spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations told a reporter that the organization’s office in Haiti, BINUH, was monitoring these events closely and that estimates ranged from 10 to 80 people killed. He demanded a thorough investigation.

“The lack of security response and the abandonment of Artibonite to armed groups shows a complete abdication of responsibility by the authorities,” Defenseurs Plus said in a joint statement with the Collective to Save the Artibonite.

The audio message posted on social media was written by the leader of Gran Grif, Luckson Elan. In this message, Elan appears to say that the attack was in retaliation for the attacks on their base in Savien by an armed group.

The Artibonite department, an important agricultural area, has seen some of the worst violence in Haiti. The gang conflict has spread beyond the capital Port-au-Prince despite police brutality and promises of more outside support for Haiti’s security forces.

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The Haitian National Police said it had intercepted three armored vehicles, which were being slowed by potholes dug by gang members on the road. Officials said the armed group was fleeing the area when the police arrived, and many houses had already been set on fire.

The injured were taken to a local hospital and the dead to two morgues, the police said, adding that they have launched an operation to nab the escaped gang members.

Defenders Plus estimated that 50 houses were burned.

Nearly 20,000 people have been killed in Haiti since 2021, according to the latest United Nations report, with the death toll rising every year, as increasingly independent and powerful armed groups clash with security forces and vigilante groups in the region.

Gran Grif and Viv Ansanm, which unite hundreds of gangs in the capital, have been designated terrorist organizations by Washington. The gangs have been accused of multiple murders, gang rapes, arson, theft and trafficking of firearms, drugs and body parts.

This month, the US offered a reward of up to $3 million for information about their financial activities.
The weekend attack marks the latest in a string of killings in the region, largely attributed to Gran Grif. In October 2024, an attack on Gran Grif in the nearby town of Pont-Sonde killed 115 people, when gunmen opened fire on residents from house to house.

More than 1.4 million people – about 12% of the Caribbean’s most populous country – have been displaced by conflicts with armed groups, exacerbating economic and food access problems.

Reporting by Steven Aristil in Port-au-Prince and Natalia Siniawski in Mexico City; Edited by Sarah Morland, Brendan O’Boyle and David Gregorio

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