At least 70 dead in Haiti’s Artibonite armed gang attack, local rights groups say

Editor’s note: Fritznel D. Octave, Haiti editor of The Haitian Times, contributed to this developing reporting.

PORT-AU-PRINCE — At least 70 people have been killed, more than 30 injured and over 50 homes burned in a deadly gang attack in Haiti’s Artibonite region, according to local advocacy groups. This bloodbath adds to several mass killings recorded in recent months as violence spreads beyond the capital.

The assault targeted Jean-Denis, a section in the Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite commune, and has been attributed to the heavily armed Gran Grif gang, an affiliate of Viv Ansansanm, which operates in the nearby Savien area.

The Collective to Save Artibonite, working with Defender Plus, said on Radio Television Caraïbes that the attack began the evening of March 28 and continued through Monday morning, March 30, as residents fled in panic.

“I don’t see how I can describe what is happening in Jean-Denis, in the Pont-Sondé area,” said Antonal Mortimé of Defender Plus.

“In one family, three brothers were killed. In another, three cousins have already been buried because the bodies could not be kept, as the gangs had mutilated and crushed them.”

Witnesses said gunmen entered the area in large numbers, opening fire and targeting civilians as families tried to escape. Homes were burned and entire neighborhoods emptied.

Residents reported that attackers briefly withdrew when police and self-defense groups arrived, but returned after officers left, prolonging the assault.

From Sunday into Monday, the violence continued, with the death toll still rising as search efforts uncovered more bodies.

While at least 70 deaths have been confirmed by the local advocacy groups, they said local officials told them the number could reach between 85 and 100 victims.

André Saint-Louis, coordinator of the Committee for Peace Initiative in Lower Artibonite, provided a lower estimate but confirmed the scale of the attack.

“The attackers killed at least 20 people, wounded several others and set dozens of homes on fire,” he told The Haitian Times, adding the assault may have initially targeted self-defense groups but quickly spread to civilians.

No official response to a widening security crisis

As of Monday, Haitian authorities had not released an official statement or casualty figures.

Residents and local leaders criticized what they described as a delayed or insufficient police response, saying communities were left to defend themselves.

“Is it this government plan to let gangs massacre people in the lower Artibonite area at their pleasure?” asked Miralène Isnadin, a native of Jean-Denis who lives in South Florida. 

“I feel very devastated,” she told The Haitian Times. “Nine of our relatives were killed in one night, including five in one home and four in another. We have yet to hear from many others who are not accounted for. We don’t know if they are alive, hiding from the assaillants.”

The massacre underscores the rapid expansion of gang violence beyond Port-au-Prince into regions like Artibonite and the Centre department — areas once considered relatively stable but now increasingly under daily threats.

Armed groups have tightened their control over key roads and agricultural zones, disrupting food supply routes and displacing communities. In many areas, the state’s presence remains minimal or absent.

Gran Grif has been linked to repeated attacks in Artibonite. In October 2024, the group carried out a massacre in nearby Pont-Sondé that killed more than 100 people and forced thousands to flee.

More broadly, Haiti has seen a sharp escalation in violence over the past year. According to recent United Nations data, more than 5,500 people were killed between March 2025 and January 2026 in clashes involving gangs, security forces and vigilante groups.

Despite the deployment of a Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission (MSS) in June 2024 and ongoing police operations, residents say security has not improved in many areas. Armed groups continue to carry out coordinated attacks with little resistance, reinforcing a climate of fear and impunity.

Insufficient or no response has left communities in limbo

In Jean-Denis, thousands of survivors are now displaced, with many unsure where to go as violence persists.

“For now, residents don’t know where to turn unless the authorities do something urgently,” Isnadin said.

The latest attack adds to growing concerns that, without a sustained and effective security response, mass killings like this could become even more frequent across Haitian provinces.

The post At least 70 dead in Haiti’s Artibonite armed gang attack, local rights groups say appeared first on The Haitian Times.