As gang members allegedly set fire to at least 45 residences and 34 cars, causing inhabitants to escape their homes, at least 16 more people suffered critical injuries in the attack.
According to a UN source, armed members of the Gran Grif gang fired automatic guns at locals in a Haitian hamlet, killing at least 70 people.
UN Human Rights Office spokesman Thameen al Kheetan stated in a statement on Friday, “We are horrified by Thursday’s gang attacks in the town of Pont-Sonde in Haiti’s Artibonite department.”
The UN reports that gang members set fire to at least 45 houses and 34 vehicles during the early hours of Thursday, causing inhabitants to escape their homes and injuring at least 16 more people critically.
Prime Minister Garry Conille stated on X that “this heinous crime against defenceless women, men, and children is not only an attack against victims but against the entire Haitian nation.”
“Security forces, backed by our international partners, are reinforcing their intervention.”
Gang accuses locals of carrying out the attack.
Gran Grif leader Luckson Elan, who was sanctioned by the UN last month, blamed the victims and the state for the attacks in an audio statement that was posted on social media on Thursday.
He charged locals with doing nothing but watching while police or vigilante groups killed his soldiers.
“It’s Pont-Sonde residents who are at fault. The state bears responsibility for what transpired at Pont-Sonde,” he declared.
On Thursday, the local media announced that thousands of Pont-Sonde inhabitants were moving into Saint-Marc, a seaside town.
Situated in the breadbasket region of Haiti, Pont-Sonde is a significant rice grower and an important crossing point leading northward from the capital, Port-au-Prince.
