Gang violence erupts in town in central Haiti, AP reports

Haiti’s central region town of Petite-Rivière de l’Artibonite descended into violence early Sunday as the Gran Grif gang battled a vigilante group, regional officials told The Associated Press.

AP reported that the rampage left bloodied bodies scattered across streets in the Jean-Denis neighborhood, and that gang members set houses on fire as civilians were left reeling amid the fighting.

Officials and the AP did not provide an immediate estimate of how many people were killed during the clash. It also was not immediately clear what role the vigilantes played during the takeover of areas affected by the violence, AP reported.

The AP described the massacre as part of a wider pattern of bloodshed that Haiti has faced for about five years, after the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. In the years since, AP reported, gang warfare has intensified across parts of the country, contributing to repeated episodes of killings and displacement.

AP said that around 2023, vigilante groups began to emerge in Haiti in response to gang activity. The AP reported that the vigilantes have carried out brutal attacks in areas where gangs have sought control, further deepening the violence and complicating efforts to restore security.

In its reporting, AP described vigilante violence as involving neighborhood closures and severe beatings and killings of people suspected of belonging to gang networks, including acts that can involve dismemberment and burning.

While the vigilantes have added a new layer of confrontation, AP reported that the Gran Grif gang continued to sow terror in Haiti’s Artibonite region, where Petite-Rivière de l’Artibonite is located.

AP reported that the Gran Grif gang was among groups the Trump administration designated as a foreign terrorist organization last year. AP also cited the United Nations’ assessment that the gang is the largest in the region, responsible for 80% of civilian deaths there, and that it has massacred and raped civilians, including a minor, forced thousands to flee, and dismembered people.