More than 180 people were killed in Haiti in a wave of brutal weekend violence, reportedly targeting voodoo practitioners. According to the Committee for Peace and Development (CPD), the violence in Port-au-Prince was directed by an influential gang leader who believed practitioners of the religion were responsible for his son’s illness.
The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke against the “horrific” violence, with his spokesperson confirming at least 184 casualties, including 127 elderly individuals.
The UN and CPD confirmed that the killings occurred in Cite Soleil, a western coastal area of the capital.
The Haiti-based organisation in a statement said that the gang leader “decided to cruelly punish all elderly people and voodoo practitioners who, in his imagination, would be capable of sending a bad spell on his son.”
Speaking to AFP, a local resident verified the attacks and confirmed his 76-year-old father was amongst the victims. “The bandits set fire to his body. The family cannot even organise a burial for him since we were unable to recover the body,” he said, expressing concern for other family members’ safety.
“I also fear for their lives,” he said. “I will try to get them out,” he added.
The incident marks another instance of extreme brutality in the capital city, which is largely controlled by powerful gangs in this Caribbean nation long affected by political turmoil and natural calamities.
The Committee for Peace and Development (CPD) said that “The gang’s soldiers were responsible for identifying victims in their homes to take them to the chief’s stronghold to be executed.”
“Reliable sources within the community report that more than a hundred people were massacred, their bodies mutilated and burned in the street,” they added.
In a Radio Magik 9 interview, Fritznel Pierre, a prominent figure in the organisation, stated that the casualty figures were incomplete due to the area’s inaccessibility.
According to his account, armed individuals targeted elderly residents and voodoo practitioners in Cite Soleil’s Wharf Jeremie district between Friday evening and Saturday.
“Motorcycle taxi drivers who tried to flee with targeted people were also executed,” he said.
Voodoo, introduced to Haiti by enslaved Africans, remains integral to the nation’s cultural identity. Previously prohibited during French colonial rule, it received official recognition as a religion by Haiti’s government in 2003.
Haiti’s longstanding instability intensified in February when armed groups initiated coordinated attacks in the capital, aiming to remove then-prime minister Ariel Henry.
Armed groups now dominate 80 per cent of the city. Despite the presence of a Kenyan-led police mission supported by the United States and UN, violent incidents continue to increase.
Antonio Guterres urged authorities to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the weekend attacks whilst emphasising the need for increased international assistance to support Haitian police against armed groups.
The International Organization for Migration reports that Haiti has over 700,000 internally displaced individuals, with children comprising half the number, plus an additional 5,000 people displaced by the recent weekend violence.
According to United Nations data, the recent casualties have increased Haiti’s death toll this year to approximately 5,000 people.
