Port-au-Prince, 31 March (H.S.):

Armed gangs launched a brutal assault in the Caribbean nation of Haiti, claiming at least 70 lives and injuring over 30 others, many critically. The attack targeted Haiti's key agricultural region of Artibonite near Petit-Rivière, where over 50 homes were torched to ashes during the rampage that began early Sunday and continued into Monday.

This bloodshed marks yet another in a series of recent mass killings, with no official administrative response reported. According to The Haitian Times, the Collective to Save Artibonite informed Radio Télévision Caribes that the violence started on March 28 and persisted, as eyewitnesses described large groups of gunmen storming the area, indiscriminately firing on civilians. Attackers briefly retreated upon the arrival of police and self-defense groups but returned to resume the onslaught.

Search operations have uncovered additional bodies, pushing the confirmed death toll to 70, though aid groups warn it could reach 85-100; over 30 wounded, including children, are receiving treatment at St. Nicolas Hospital. The assault focused on the Jean-Denis neighborhood in Petit-Rivière commune, Artibonite, with the heavily armed Gran Grif gang—affiliated with Viv Ansanm in Savien—being blamed.

International Condemnation

The UN Secretary-General's spokesperson strongly condemned the massacre, demanding a thorough investigation; the BINUH office in Haiti is monitoring, citing varying death toll estimates from 10 to 80. A recent UN report notes nearly 20,000 killed in internal violence since 2021, with annual fatalities rising; US-designated terrorist groups Gran Grif and Viv Ansanm face charges of mass murder, rape, arson, theft, and trafficking in arms, drugs, and organs, with a $3 million bounty for financial intelligence this month.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar