PONSONDE, Haiti (AP) – The death toll in last week’s brutal gang attack in a small town in central Haiti has risen to 115, local officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The attack on the residents of Pon Sonde on October 3 was one of the largest massacres Haiti has experienced in recent years.
Miriam Fievre, mayor of the nearby city of Saint-Marc, said Wednesday that the death toll had risen to 115 and would continue to rise as authorities were still searching for bodies and unable to gain access to certain areas of the town. He said it was highly likely.
“We are working to make sure the public is protected,” she said in a phone interview.
The United Nations previously said the Gran Griff gang invaded a town in the central Artibonite region last week, killing at least 70 people.
Local human rights groups said the victims included infants, young mothers and elderly people, and that the gang approached Pong Zonde in canoes and caught residents by surprise.
Survivors questioned why authorities did nothing to stop the attack, even though the gang had warned in videos posted on social media that they were planning to target Pong Zhonde. There is.
A day after the attack, authorities replaced the police chief who oversees the Artibonite area, which has seen a surge in gang violence in recent years and said at least 20 criminal organizations operate in the area, according to the United Nations. did.
More than 6,200 survivors have fled Pont Sonde and have temporarily settled in the coastal city of Saint-Marc and surrounding areas.
Germain Rivaldo, wounded by gunfire in an armed group attack, lies in a bed at St. Nicholas Hospital in Saint-Marc, Haiti, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Oderin Joseph)
People displaced by an armed group attack rest at the Antoinette Dessalines National School, a temporary evacuation center in Saint-Marc, Haiti, Sunday, October 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Oderin Joseph)
The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration said most of them were staying with relatives, but more than 750 others had nowhere to go and were sleeping on the floors of churches, schools and public squares in Saint-Marc.
As Saint-Marc struggles with the sudden influx of people, Fièvre warns that the Grand Griff gang is infiltrating nearby communities after attacking Pont Sonde.
Haiti’s National Human Rights Defense Network has criticized gangs for their efforts by local self-defense organizations to limit gang activity in Pon Sonde and prevent them from profiting from makeshift road tolls recently set up nearby. said he was angry.
Cemetery workers prepare a grave on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, days after the mass assault in Ponsonde, Haiti. (AP Photo/Oderin Joseph)
Grand Griff has about 100 members and has been accused of crimes including murder, rape, robbery, and kidnapping. The organization was founded after former lawmaker Profan Victor began arming young people nearly a decade ago to secure elections and regional control, the UN said.
Victor and Grand Griff leader Lacson Eran were sanctioned by the United States last month. Mr. Elan has also been sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council, which describes Gran Griff as the “largest and most powerful” gang in the Artibonites, with 157 He pointed out that he had committed nine mass kidnappings, including of people.
People ride public transportation known as tap taps in Ponsonde, Haiti, Tuesday, October 8, 2024. Days after a deadly gang attack in town. (AP Photo/Oderin Joseph)
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Sanon reported from Port-au-Prince, Haiti
