A brutal attack by gang members armed with automatic rifles in Pont-Sonde, Haiti, on Thursday, October 3, resulted in the deaths of at least 70 people and forced over 6,000 residents to flee their homes.
The massacre, which occurred in the early hours of the morning, took place in the agricultural region of Artibonite, western Haiti. Numerous others were severely injured in the attack.
Luckson Elan, the leader of the Gran Grif gang, claimed responsibility for the violence, stating that it was a retaliation for the killing of his soldiers by police and vigilante groups.
A video shared online depicts terrified residents fleeing the scene, including pedestrians and cyclists.
According to the UN migration agency, approximately 6,270 people have been displaced due to the attacks. Many of these individuals are seeking shelter with families in nearby towns like Saint-Marc, while others have established makeshift camps.
Local authorities reported that the gang members set fire to numerous homes and vehicles.
Prime Minister Garry Conille condemned the massacre as a heinous crime against the Haitian nation and announced that security forces were being deployed to the area.
“This odious crime against defenceless women, men and children is not only an attack against victims but against the entire Haitian nation,” Prime Minister Garry Conille said on X.
In response to the incident, the director of police in charge of the Artibonite department was replaced on Friday, October 4.
A spokesperson for the national police assured that reinforcements had been sent to contain the situation and that security forces were in control.
Bertide Horace, a spokesperson from the Dialogue and Reconciliation Commission to Save the Artibonite Valley, told Reuters that the gang faced no resistance during the attack. He suggested that police officers may have remained in their station due to concerns about being outnumbered by the heavily armed gang members.
Many victims were shot in the head as gang members systematically targeted individuals in their homes. Horace described the scene as one of chaos and terror, with people running in all directions while being shot at, killed, burned, and forced to flee their homes.
The human rights organization RNDDH warned that the death toll was likely higher, as entire families had been wiped out. The report stated that bodies were scattered on the ground, awaiting recovery by loved ones.
“At the time of writing, corpses are strewn on the ground as their loved ones have not yet been able to recover them,” it said in a report.
