Politics UN: At least 70 people killed in gang attack in Haiti

According to the UN, at least 70 people, including around ten women and three children, have been killed in a gang attack on a small village in Haiti. Initially, local media had reported numerous deaths in the incident in Pont-Sondé. The UN Human Rights Office in Geneva reported that gang members had fired automatic rifles. A further 16 people were seriously injured and 45 houses and 34 vehicles were set on fire.

It was a brutal attack on defenceless people, explained the Prime Minister of the Caribbean state, Garry Conille, on X. Bandits from the Gran Grif gang had surprised the residents at 3.00 a.m. (local time) on Thursday night, the government announced. The people were attacked with "indescribable brutality".

The renewed act of violence against innocent civilians was unacceptable and required an urgent, rigorous and coordinated response from the state, the statement said. The deployment of security forces in the region north of the capital Port-au-Prince will be stepped up.

Population affected by poverty and gang violence

Haiti is the poorest country on the American continent. The Caribbean state has been suffering for years from the violence of armed gangs, most of whom have Port-au-Prince under their control. The violence is also spreading to other regions. Last year, the UN office in Haiti had already expressed concern about the brutality of the Gran Grif (roughly: Big Claw) against the population in the Artibonite Valley, where the attacked community is located.

The UN Office for Human Rights called for more international support for the multinational security mission in Haiti and called for a swift and thorough investigation into the attack. There was initially no information from official sources on the background to the attack.

The protection force, led by Kenya, is currently trying to restore public order in Haiti. The security mission with a planned 3,000 troops was approved by the UN Security Council last October. The first Kenyan police officers only arrived in Haiti in June - so far there are only a few hundred officers.