No fewer than 20 people, including children, were killed in an armed gang attack on the town of Pont-Sondé in Haiti’s Artibonite region, about 71km northwest of Port-au-Prince.
The attack, carried out by members of the notorious Gran Grif gang, also left at least 50 others wounded.
Video footage from the scene shows people fleeing the violence on motorbikes and on foot.
A government prosecutor described the attack as “a massacre,” according to the Associated Press.
Haiti has been increasingly gripped by gang violence, with armed groups taking control of large swaths of the country.
In response, a UN-backed policing mission led by Kenyan officers began in June in an effort to restore order.
The exact death toll from the attack remains unclear. Local media reported more than 50 fatalities, while a Haitian human rights group estimated 20 or more were killed.
Gran Grif, considered one of Haiti’s most violent gangs, has a history of brutal attacks.
In January 2023, the gang was accused of attacking a police station near Pont-Sondé, killing six officers. It has also been blamed for the closure of a hospital serving over 700,000 people.
With about 100 members, the gang has been linked to crimes such as murder, rape, robbery, and kidnapping, according to a UN report cited by AP. Both its founder and current leader are under U.S. sanctions.
This latest attack comes nearly a month after Haitian authorities expanded a state of emergency to cover the entire country.
Prime Minister Garry Conille has pledged to crack down on the gangs, with the UN calling for a “robust use of force.”
A policing mission comprising 2,500 officers, including 1,000 from Kenya, has been deployed to tackle the gang violence.
The mission has been authorized for one year, with a review set for nine months.
