At least 11 persons were killed and dozens injured in an overnight attack in a Haitian town led by the Gran Grif gang.
Influence Of Armed Gangs
Local newspaper Le Nouvelliste reported on Thursday, as powerful armed gangs expand their influence from the capital.
Thousands of residents left the town of Pont-Sonde, some 100 km (62 miles) north of the capital.
They are trying to seek refuge in the coastal town of Saint-Marc, Le Nouvelliste said.
Casualties
Other media reported the toll may be in the dozens.
Haiti’s national police told Reuters that several people were killed and severely wounded in the attack.
They later said agents from their UTAG anti-gang tactical unit had been dispatched to the area.
Police Instructed To Restore Order
Haiti’s Justice Ministry said that these crimes will not go unpunished.
The police will act on formal instructions to restore order and prevent all those sowing terror in the Artibonite department from causing harm.
How The Gang Unleashed Terror?
Men from the gang led by 36-year-old Luckson Elan burned buildings and executed people in the streets.
A major rice producing town, Pont-Sonde is located in Haiti’s breadbasket Artibonite department.
Violence And Hunger Crisis
Artibonite in central Haiti has suffered the worst violence outside the capital, compounding a worsening hunger crisis.
Half the population is suffering severe food insecurity and thousands in capital Port-au-Prince are facing famine-level hunger.
Closure of Main Port
The capital’s main port has also shut due to gang attacks.
The number of people internally displaced by the conflict has meanwhile surged past 700,000, nearly doubling in six months.
This has happened despite the partial deployment of a U.N.-backed mission mandated to help under-resourced police restore order.
Neighboring Dominican Republic has said that it would step up migrant deportations to up to 10,000 per week.
It cited the slow and limited progress of the security mission, which Haiti’s government first requested in 2022.
(With inputs from Reuters)
