More than 70 people were killed in the gang attack, between Saturday night and Sunday, in the town of Petit Riviere in the Artibonite department in central Haiti, the UN special envoy to the country said today, while yesterday’s police count was at least 16 dead.
“At least 70 dead in violent and coordinated attacks in several locations in the Petit Riviere of Artibonite: this indiscriminate violence is yet another reminder of the urgent need for increased support in Haiti to combat the scourge of gangs and the networks that support them,” says Carlos Ruiz Massier in a post on Platform X.
The provisional count announced yesterday by the Haitian police on Monday said at least 16 dead, but organizations for the defense of human rights had expressed fears that the number of victims would increase dramatically.
According to local authorities, members of the “Gran Grif” gang launched an attack in the Jean-Denis district around 3 a.m. (local time), setting fire to houses and causing death. Many residents of Petit Riviere fled their homes to escape.
A report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, published last week, said gang violence and operations to fight organized crime in Haiti had caused more than 5,500 deaths between March 2025 and mid-January.
Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, has for years been plagued by gang violence, which commits murder, rape, looting and kidnapping.
