At least 70 killed in gang attack on Haitian city

"Members of the Grand Grif gang armed with automatic rifles opened fire on the population and killed at least 70 people, including ten women and three infants," the United Nations reported Friday in a statement reported by AFP. Another 16 people were also seriously wounded, two of them were members of the gang behind the attack.

The gang members "are said to have set fire to at least 45 houses and 34 vehicles" in Pont Sondé, a town in the west of the impoverished Caribbean country, according to the UN. More than 6,000 people fled to nearby towns, leaving their homes behind.

Bertide Horace, spokesman for a local association, told local radio Magik 9 that the head of Grand Grif, Luckson Elan, organized the attack after some drivers in the town refused to pay money at a toll booth the gang had installed on a national highway. "The bandits took over the town and executed dozens of residents. Almost all the victims died from a bullet to the head," he added. According to other local press reports, Elan also reportedly said that the attack was a response to civilians' failure to act as police killed members of his gang.

An inadequate response

The Haitian government condemned the "brutal, senseless" attack. It also announced that it had dispatched police and troops from the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti, foreign forces, mainly Kenyan police, to assist local forces.

"Today, once again, once more than the count, we face the most absolute cowardice," wrote the Prime Minister, Gary Conille. "A brutal, senseless attack struck innocent citizens in Pont Sondé. This heinous crime, perpetrated against defenseless women, men and children, is not only an attack against the victims, but against the entire Haitian nation."

The UN High Commissioner called for "increased international financial and logistical support for the Multinational Security Support Mission."

In late September, the United States announced sanctions against Elan for his involvement in serious human rights violations, as well as against a former parliamentarian, Prophane Victor, for his role in training, supporting and supplying weapons to the gangs.

Haiti, one of the world's poorest countries, faces growing lawlessness as gangs strengthen their presence in the capital Port-au-Prince while security and health systems have all but collapsed. The High Commissioner reported last week that violence has claimed at least 3,661 since January.

The wave of violence and the catastrophic humanitarian situation forced more than 700,000 people, including half of them children, to flee their homes to find refuge in other parts of the country, according to the latest figures from the International Organization for Migration released Wednesday.