Scores of people were killed in an attack over the weekend in Haiti's Cité Soleil, observers said

Dozens of people were killed over the weekend in the Cité Soleil area of ​​Haiti, the Haitian prime minister's office said on Monday, after an attack on the government and two non-governmental organizations said to have been ordered by a gang leader.

“The red line has been crossed,” the prime minister's office said in a statement posted on X, adding that it would “mobilize all forces to pursue and exterminate” those involved, including gang leader Monel “Mikano” Felix, whom it suspects. planning an attack.

A statement from the prime minister's office revealed that the death toll is around 180, which is a much higher number than what many observers have said after the reported violence.

The National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH), a Haitian NGO that monitors government institutions and promotes human rights education, said on Sunday that at least 110 people – all over the age of 60 – were killed in Cité Soleil over the weekend.

He later said the death toll could be higher and quoted witnesses as saying “mutilated bodies were burned in the streets, including many young people who were killed trying to save civilians.”

Meanwhile, the Cooperative for Peace and Development, which is an organization that fights for local rights, in a statement on Sunday, said that its monitoring unit found that about 20 adults were killed. But it mentioned that residents who are unknown to the public say that there are more than 100 victims.

New information

The undercover information was a worrying sign in a country grappling with gang violence.

“The fact that we have so many doubts about what happened in the days after the massacre is a clear sign of the level of control (the gangs) have over the people,” said Diego Da Rin, an analyst at the International Crisis Group.

The RNDDH said that Felix, the leader of the gang, ordered the violence after his child fell ill, and after receiving advice from a Vodou priest who accused an elderly woman in the area of ​​harming the child with witchcraft. The group said Felix's baby died on Saturday afternoon.

Reuters could not independently verify the events reported by RNDDH. Felix did not comment on the allegations.

The Cooperative for Peace and Development said that the information spread in the community shows that Felix blames the neighbors for his son's illness.

“He has decided to brutally punish all the elderly people and (Vodou) workers who, in his opinion, will be able to cast a spell on his son,” the group said in a statement quoted in an Associated Press report.

This group says that the gunmen gathered well-known community leaders and took them to the residence of the leader of the gang, where they were killed. Motorcyclists who were trying to rescue the victims were also killed.

It also noted that people who leave the community “to continue to identify (Vodou) with the elderly with the intention of silent killing” are prohibited.

Da Rin, of the International Crisis Group, noted that often the killings in Haiti are documented and posted on social media, although it can be difficult to verify. “This time, there was not even a message on WhatsApp or a video on TikTok, which is unusual,” he said.

The Cooperative for Peace and Development said Felix has targeted Vodou practitioners, killing dozens of elderly women and Vodou leaders “suspected of witchcraft” in recent years.

It is not uncommon for Haitians to seek medical and other advice from Vodou priests.

Cité Soleil, a densely populated area near the port of the capital Port-au-Prince, is among the poorest and most violent areas in Haiti.

Tight controls on gangs, including restrictions on the use of mobile phones, limited the ability of citizens to share information about the massacre.

The government, beset by political conflicts, has struggled to curb the growing power of gangs in and around the capital. Armed groups are accused of indiscriminate killings, gang rapes, extortion of ransom money and fueling food shortages.

In October, the Gran Grif gang claimed responsibility for killing at least 115 people in Pont-Sondé, a town in Haiti's Artibonite region. They said it was revenge for the residents to help the defense team prevent road tolls.

Call the peacekeepers

A UN-backed security mission was requested by Haiti in 2022 and approved the following year but has so far been understaffed and remains under-resourced.

Haitian leaders have called for the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support unit to be turned into UN peacekeepers to ensure it is better served, but the plan has stalled amid opposition from China and Russia in the Security Council.

“The Secretary-General reiterates his urgent call for Member States to provide the Multinational Security Support Unit with the necessary financial support to effectively assist the Haitian National Police,” said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, in a statement. .

The White House security spokesman reiterated the call for urgent international support for the operation and said the United States was “surprised.”

“The crisis in Haiti has reached catastrophic levels as organized crime groups intensify attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure,” Human Rights Watch said on Monday as it called for a UN campaign.

Dujarric also called for the acceleration of political change within Haiti. Haiti's transitional government has said it plans to hold long-awaited elections in 2025, provided there are adequate guarantees for a free and fair vote.

However, the security situation has continued to deteriorate, and many countries have not fulfilled pledges of support.

Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, called on countries to step up efforts to stop arms trafficking in Haiti. The UN estimates that the weapons of the growing gangs are now trafficked mainly from the United States.

“This latest killing brings the death toll this year in Haiti to 5,000,” he said.