UN condemns latest gang attack in Haiti as violence continues
Key Points(5)
- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned a gang attack in Haiti that left at least 11 people dead and several others injured in Gros-Morne’s Third Communal Section on Monday.
- Four members of the same family were among those killed after they were caught in crossfire while transporting a sick woman to hospital.
- Three suspected members of the Kokorat San Ras armed gang were also fatally wounded.
- Gros-Morne Interim Mayor Hubert Cénéac said the violence followed a confrontation between members of the Kokorat San Ras gang and a Sri Lankan contingent of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in the nearby Savane Longue Communal Section.
- According to Cénéac, security forces entered the area to clear a stretch of the national road linking Haiti’s Northwest and Artibonite departments, where the gang had established a checkpoint to extort drivers and passengers.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned a gang attack in Haiti that left at least 11 people dead and several others injured in Gros-Morne’s Third Communal Section on Monday.
Four members of the same family were among those killed after they were caught in crossfire while transporting a sick woman to hospital. Three suspected members of the Kokorat San Ras armed gang were also fatally wounded.
Gros-Morne Interim Mayor Hubert Cénéac said the violence followed a confrontation between members of the Kokorat San Ras gang and a Sri Lankan contingent of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in the nearby Savane Longue Communal Section.
According to Cénéac, security forces entered the area to clear a stretch of the national road linking Haiti’s Northwest and Artibonite departments, where the gang had established a checkpoint to extort drivers and passengers.
UN Secretary-General spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said Guterres condemned the attack and warned that it highlighted the continuing toll of gang violence on Haitian communities.
“I can tell you that the Secretary-General condemns the reported gang attack on Monday in Gros-Morne, which is one of the communes in that department, which reportedly left at least 11 people dead,” Dujarric said.
“This horrific attack is another reminder of the heavy toll that gang violence continues to take on Haitians living in areas under the control or just under the influence of armed gangs,” he added.
Dujarric said the attack also underscored the need to strengthen security efforts in Haiti, including the full deployment of the GSF in support of the Haitian National Police.
He also called for broader efforts to address the underlying drivers of violence and instability.
“According to our colleagues at the Human Rights Office, more than 3,000 human beings were killed in Haiti between January and June of this year,” Dujarric said.
He added that the UN and its partners continue to provide food, health care, psychosocial support and emergency cash assistance, but humanitarian needs continue to exceed available resources.
The comments came after the UN Security Council voted Monday to extend the GSF’s mandate for six months as Haiti prepares for elections in December. The force is expected to comprise about 5,500 personnel when fully deployed.
Meanwhile, Haiti’s Catholic bishops have warned that the country’s deteriorating security and political situation is causing growing alarm.
In a statement, the bishops said Haiti’s “descent into hell causes us increasing alarm every day.”
“The general situation is deteriorating before our horrified eyes: on one hand, the alarming advance of armed groups occupying our neighbourhoods and the surge in kidnappings—which traumatise our families and disrupt the functioning of schools and universities; and on the other, the spectacle of failing governance, unable to restore public peace or protect the population,” they said.
The bishops said Haiti is facing “profound confusion, a glaring lack of leadership, and an absence of long-term vision.”
“The population has been left to fend for itself. The horrific Kenscoff massacre remains fresh in everyone’s minds, and the blood of the victims cries out to heaven for justice,” they said.
The bishops were referring to the gang attack on the farming community of Kenscoff on Aug. 23-24, which authorities said killed at least 47 people and left dozens kidnapped. Other reports have put the death toll as high as 164.
