A recent massacre in Haiti underscores a grave humanitarian crisis driven by rampant gang violence, leaving nearly 110 dead in an apparent act of vengeance against alleged witchcraft practitioners.
Horrific Violence in Haiti: Gangs Kill Over 100 in Witchcraft Massacre
Horrific Violence in Haiti: Gangs Kill Over 100 in Witchcraft Massacre
Brutal gang violence claims lives of elderly accused of sorcery in Port-au-Prince.
Haiti has been gripped by bloody gang violence in recent years. At least 110 predominantly elderly individuals have been savagely murdered by gang members in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, according to the National Human Rights Defence Network (RNDDH). The report indicates that a local gang leader targeted these individuals following the unexplained illness and subsequent death of his son. Under the advice of a voodoo priest, the gang leader was led to believe that the elderly community members were responsible for his child's plight.
The United Nations has alarmingly reported that the number of fatalities due to escalating gang violence in Haiti has already reached around 5,000 this year alone. This weekend's horrific events are part of an intensifying wave of violence, with UN human rights chief Volker Türk estimating that as many as 184 individuals may have lost their lives at the hands of a powerful gang leader over this tragic weekend.
Details are still emerging, but it has been reported that gang members forcibly took numerous seniors from their homes in the Wharf Jérémie area, where they were systematically executed through shooting or stabbing. Witnesses described seeing disfigured bodies burned on the streets. The RNDDH estimated that 60 individuals fell victim on Friday, while the remaining 50 were gathered and murdered the following day as the gang retaliated against those they deemed culpable for the gang leader's son’s illness.
Although RNDDH claims all the victims were over 60, other human rights groups noted that younger individuals trying to defend the elderly were also attacked. Local media identified Monel Felix, known as Mikano, as the orchestrator of these gruesome killings. Mikano controls the Wharf Jérémie area, which is crucial to gang operations but is challenging for security forces to access.
The region has been a focal point for gang violence since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. While a temporary decrease in crime rates was seen between May and September this year due to rival gangs putting down their arms momentarily, the recent strategic territorial expansions have resulted in tragic incidents claiming the lives of innocent civilians, rather than just rival gang members.
Just on November 3, 115 locals were brutally murdered in the small town of Pont-Sondé by the Gran Grif gang, who acted against community members joining vigilante groups aimed at resisting their violent extortion tactics. If confirmed, the UN's figures would make the Cité Soleil killings one of the deadliest incidents documented in 2023.
With gangs controlling approximately 85% of Port-au-Prince and expanding their reach into surrounding rural areas, a staggering number of 700,000 Haitians—including many children—have been forced to abandon their homes. Reports by the International Organization for Migration highlight the dire conditions faced by those displaced and the rampant sexual violence perpetrated by gang members to instill fear among civilians, with criminal groups operating without fear of repercussions.
Attempts by an international Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support Mission to restore order have not yet yielded success, as the security force struggles with inadequate funding and equipment to confront highly armed gangs. Additionally, Haiti's Transitional Presidential Council (TPC), tasked with re-establishing democratic governance, seems to be in disarray, having recently changed its interim leadership without meaningful progress towards elections. The general sentiment, as expressed by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Crime, portrays the TPC's situation as handling a “mountain of ashes” amid chaos.
The United Nations has alarmingly reported that the number of fatalities due to escalating gang violence in Haiti has already reached around 5,000 this year alone. This weekend's horrific events are part of an intensifying wave of violence, with UN human rights chief Volker Türk estimating that as many as 184 individuals may have lost their lives at the hands of a powerful gang leader over this tragic weekend.
Details are still emerging, but it has been reported that gang members forcibly took numerous seniors from their homes in the Wharf Jérémie area, where they were systematically executed through shooting or stabbing. Witnesses described seeing disfigured bodies burned on the streets. The RNDDH estimated that 60 individuals fell victim on Friday, while the remaining 50 were gathered and murdered the following day as the gang retaliated against those they deemed culpable for the gang leader's son’s illness.
Although RNDDH claims all the victims were over 60, other human rights groups noted that younger individuals trying to defend the elderly were also attacked. Local media identified Monel Felix, known as Mikano, as the orchestrator of these gruesome killings. Mikano controls the Wharf Jérémie area, which is crucial to gang operations but is challenging for security forces to access.
The region has been a focal point for gang violence since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. While a temporary decrease in crime rates was seen between May and September this year due to rival gangs putting down their arms momentarily, the recent strategic territorial expansions have resulted in tragic incidents claiming the lives of innocent civilians, rather than just rival gang members.
Just on November 3, 115 locals were brutally murdered in the small town of Pont-Sondé by the Gran Grif gang, who acted against community members joining vigilante groups aimed at resisting their violent extortion tactics. If confirmed, the UN's figures would make the Cité Soleil killings one of the deadliest incidents documented in 2023.
With gangs controlling approximately 85% of Port-au-Prince and expanding their reach into surrounding rural areas, a staggering number of 700,000 Haitians—including many children—have been forced to abandon their homes. Reports by the International Organization for Migration highlight the dire conditions faced by those displaced and the rampant sexual violence perpetrated by gang members to instill fear among civilians, with criminal groups operating without fear of repercussions.
Attempts by an international Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support Mission to restore order have not yet yielded success, as the security force struggles with inadequate funding and equipment to confront highly armed gangs. Additionally, Haiti's Transitional Presidential Council (TPC), tasked with re-establishing democratic governance, seems to be in disarray, having recently changed its interim leadership without meaningful progress towards elections. The general sentiment, as expressed by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Crime, portrays the TPC's situation as handling a “mountain of ashes” amid chaos.
