At least 70 killed, 30 wounded in Haiti gang attack, rights group says

A wave of brutal violence has swept through Haiti’s fertile heartland, leaving a trail of death and displacement in its wake.

At least 70 people were killed and 30 others injured in a devastating attack near Petite-Rivière in the country’s agriculturally vital Artibonite region, according to the human rights group Defenseurs Plus — a figure far exceeding initial official estimates, the Al Jazeera reported.

The assault, described by residents as relentless and terrifying, began in the pre-dawn darkness of Sunday and stretched into the early hours of Monday. Armed gang members reportedly descended upon rural communities around Jean-Denis, storming homes and setting them ablaze in a coordinated rampage that left entire neighbourhoods reduced to charred ruins.

While police initially reported a significantly lower toll — 16 dead and 10 injured — subsequent assessments by civil protection authorities and humanitarian groups painted a far grimmer picture. The United Nations said casualty estimates ranged widely, from 10 to as many as 80 people killed, underscoring the chaos and uncertainty surrounding the massacre. A spokesperson for the UN chief confirmed that the mission in Haiti, BINUH, is closely monitoring the situation and has called for a thorough investigation, the Al Jazeera reported.

Beyond the immediate carnage, the attack has triggered a fresh humanitarian crisis. Defenseurs Plus estimates that around 6,000 people have been uprooted by the violence, forced to flee their homes in fear. Even before the latest bloodshed, the UN had warned that more than 2,000 residents had already abandoned the area amid escalating gang raids.

In a sharply worded statement, Defenseurs Plus, alongside the Collective to Save the Artibonite, condemned what it described as a “complete abdication of responsibility” by Haitian authorities, citing a glaring lack of security response in a region increasingly overrun by armed groups.

A chilling audio message circulating on social media has been attributed to Luckson Elan, a figure linked to the notorious Gran Grif gang. In the recording, Elan appears to claim the attack was carried out in retaliation for strikes on the group’s stronghold in Savien by a rival faction — an indication of the spiralling cycle of revenge that continues to engulf the region.

The Artibonite valley, long known as Haiti’s breadbasket, has in recent years turned into a battleground where rival gangs, security forces, and vigilante groups clash with growing intensity. Despite increased policing and promises of international support, the violence has steadily spread beyond the capital, Port-au-Prince, into rural areas.

Authorities said police units deployed armoured vehicles to the area, but their advance was hampered by crude roadblocks — pits dug by fleeing gang members to delay pursuit. By the time officers arrived, dozens of homes had already been burned, and the attackers had melted away into the countryside. The wounded were rushed to nearby hospitals, while the dead were taken to overcrowded morgues.

The scale of destruction is staggering: at least 50 homes were reduced to ashes, entire communities shattered in a matter of hours.

Haiti’s deepening crisis is reflected in grim statistics. Nearly 20,000 people have been killed since 2021, according to recent UN estimates, as gangs grow more autonomous and heavily armed. More than 1.4 million people — roughly 12 per cent of the population — have been displaced, compounding an already dire economic collapse and worsening food insecurity.

Groups such as Gran Grif and Viv Ansanm — a powerful coalition of gangs operating in the capital — have been designated terrorist organisations by the United States, accused of atrocities ranging from mass killings and sexual violence to trafficking in weapons, drugs and even human organs. Earlier this month, Washington announced a reward of up to $3 million for information on their financial networks.

The latest massacre echoes past horrors. In October 2024, a Gran Grif-led assault on the nearby town of Pont-Sondé left 115 people dead, with gunmen reportedly going door to door in a campaign of terror.

As smoke still rises over the scorched fields of Artibonite, the latest bloodshed stands as a stark reminder of a nation trapped in a vicious cycle of violence — where lawlessness reigns, and ordinary lives are caught in the crossfire of a relentless and deepening crisis.