A Haitian gang massacre killed at least 70 people including three infants and 10 women, and injured at least 16 others on Thursday, Oct. 3. The United Nations said members of the Gran Grif Gang raided a farming community north of Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, and opened fire on its residents.
U.N. officials reported that the gang members set fires to dozens of houses and vehicles as people ran for safety. The rampage eventually ended in a gunfight with police as two gang members were injured and as people fled the town toward a coastal city.
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The leader of the Gran Grif gang claimed the killings were retribution for residents remaining passive while his soldiers were killed by police or vigilantes. Another gang leader said the attack is part of a plan to stop the town from supplying food to the country.
The community is a major rice producer in a nation facing a growing hunger crisis. Some of the main roads in Haiti go through the town and it’s been a source of revenue for gangs, who are reportedly responsible for a rash of kidnappings and ambushes along the roads. From 2022 to 2023, crime data shows the area has seen nearly 1,700 people killed, injured or kidnapped by gangs.
The outbreak of violence puts more strain on a recommitted, yet limited Kenyan-led International Security Force approved by the U.N. meant to quell gang activity in the country. Officers from the force were reportedly deployed to the farming community. However, the force’s mission is based in Haiti’s capital and does not have a permanent presence in rural areas.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Haitians have reportedly fled their homes over the past three years as gang violence has spiked.
