In the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, local gangsters killed at least 180 people over the last weekend, most of them elderly people. The leader of one of the gangs allegedly ordered the massacre of seniors due to suspicions that one of them killed his son using witchcraft. According to BBC reports, gangsters dragged victims from their homes, shot them or killed them with knives and machetes.
“The red line has been crossed,” announced the prime minister's office, announcing the “mobilization of all forces to track down and annihilate” those responsible for the massacre, including Monel “Mikano” Felix, the leader of the gang controlling the strategic Wharf Jeremie area, who was accused of planning it.
Gangsters dragged elderly people out of their homes
The non-governmental organization National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH) reported on Sunday that at least 110 people over the age of 60 were killed in the Cite Soleil district of Port-au-Prince. Later, the group noted that the death toll could be higher.
According to the BBC, gangsters dragged elderly people out of their homes and then shot them or killed them with knives or machetes. Several young people who tried to save residents also died. Witnesses saw mutilated bodies being burned in the streets.
According to the RNDDH, Felix ordered his men to kill because his son was ill, and when he sought advice from a voodoo priest, he told him that the elders of Cite Soleil had cast a spell on him. Felix's son died on Saturday, the group said.
The streets of Haiti's capital, Port-au-PrinceReuters
Coalition of gangs consolidates control
The densely populated Cite Soleil shantytown is one of the poorest and most dangerous places in Haiti. The district is controlled by gangsters who restrict residents from using mobile phones, which makes it difficult to spread information about the massacre.
The killings in Cite Soleil were condemned on Monday by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, calling on the Haitian authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and punish those responsible, said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
A coalition of gangs is consolidating its grip on the country of some 11 million people, while political leaders squabble among themselves and an international security mission makes little progress. Due to the chaos and conflict in Haiti, over 700,000 people have had to leave their homes, thousands have been killed and thousands more are starving.
Main photo source: Reuters