Nearly 200 people were killed in a brutal wave of violence over the weekend in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, according to a statement from the United Nations on Monday, December 9.
The massacre, allegedly orchestrated by a gang leader, targeted elderly individuals and practitioners of voodoo, a religion deeply rooted in Haitian culture.
The violence was reportedly triggered by the gang leader’s belief that voodoo practitioners had cast a harmful spell on his ill son, according to the Committee for Peace and Development (CPD), a civil organization based in Haiti.
“He 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,” the CPD stated. “The gang’s soldiers were responsible for identifying victims in their homes to take them to the chief’s stronghold to be executed.”
The killings took place in the western coastal neighborhood of Cite Soleil, already plagued by gang violence. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk confirmed the death toll, stating, “At least 184 people were killed in violence orchestrated by the leader of a powerful gang in the Haitian capital.”
He added that the overall death toll from violence in Haiti this year has reached a staggering 5,000.
The CPD revealed that most victims were over 60 years old, but some younger individuals who attempted to rescue others were also killed.
“Reliable sources within the community report that more than a hundred people were massacred, their bodies mutilated and burned in the street,” the organization said.
Haiti has long struggled with political and social instability, but the situation sharply worsened earlier this year when armed gangs launched attacks to unseat Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
Gangs now control 80% of Port-au-Prince, making the city one of the most dangerous in the world.
Despite international efforts to curb the violence, progress has been limited.
A Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, backed by the United States and the United Nations, has faced severe funding and logistical challenges.
Although Kenya pledged to deploy 1,000 officers, only 400 have been sent since June, with contributions from other nations falling short.
The violence has forced over 700,000 Haitians—half of them children—to flee their homes, according to UN figures from October.
Voodoo, which was brought to Haiti by African slaves and officially recognized as a religion in 2003, has faced historical persecution, compounding the challenges for its practitioners.
Gang violence continues to escalate, spreading into areas of Port-au-Prince previously untouched by conflict.
UN-backed support missions, reliant on voluntary donor contributions, remain hamstrung by unfulfilled financial pledges, leaving security forces on the ground under-resourced.
As Haiti faces its worst humanitarian and security crisis in decades, international pressure mounts to address the unchecked violence and provide tangible relief to its beleaguered population.
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