Gunmen in Haiti killed nine individuals in a recent outbreak of violence by the nation’s powerful gangs in the town of Petite-Riviere, Central Haiti, a community leader reported on Wednesday.
Among the deceased were two teenagers, and the attackers kidnapped an unknown number of individuals while also setting homes ablaze. Footage of the deceased spread across social media, inciting outrage among the town’s residents.
The attack was perceived as retribution by gang members against locals who aided authorities in reclaiming a police station.
In Haiti, influential gangs dominate much of the capital, Port-au-Prince, engaging in random acts of kidnapping, sexual assault, and other extreme violence despite the presence of a Kenyan-led force aimed at assisting the overwhelmed local police in restoring some degree of order.
Over the weekend, nearly 200 individuals lost their lives in Port-au-Prince after a gang leader, believing his son’s illness was due to a voodoo curse, targeted followers of that religion, as reported by an organisation called the Committee for Peace and Development. The United Nations reported 184 deaths, which included 127 elderly men and women.
Haiti has experienced decades of turmoil, but conditions worsened in February when gangs began coordinated assaults in the capital aimed at overthrowing then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
The medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced on Wednesday that it would partially resume its operations in Port-au-Prince, less than a month after halting its activities due to threats against its staff.
The most recent killings have increased the death toll in Haiti this year to roughly 5,000 individuals, according to the United Nations.
