Gang terror in rural Haiti’s Artibonite claims 10 lives, destruction of  homes and farms | BREAKING NEWS 

GONAIVES —  The kidnapping of a 5-year-old girl has sparked chaos, death, and destruction in rural Gros-Morne, with the Kokorat Sans Ras gang reportedly killing at least 10 people, setting homes and farms ablaze, and forcing many families to flee.

The violence began on Friday, Aug. 23, when heavily armed gangs on motorcycles stormed Canifice, a locality in Rivière-Blanche, Gros-Morne, approximately 18 miles north of Gonaïves. 

The attack was reportedly a retaliation against the community for pointing fingers at the gang, implicating it in the kidnapping and sequestration of the young girl, for the release of whom a $50,000 ransom has been demanded. Kokorat San Ras gang leaders have denied involvement and launched their fury on residents.

Local media reported that six people were killed between Friday and Saturday, with four more on Tuesday. 

Gros-Morne Mayor Hubert Sénéac, contacted via WhatsApp call by The Haitian Times, confirmed the deaths and destruction in the third and sixth communal sections of his municipality.

The arrival of gang groups like Kokorat San Ras and Gran Grif has heightened insecurity in the Artibonite regions, leading to numerous attacks on rural communities. 

In mid-June, an attack in Terre-Neuve and Gros-Morne left 10 dead and at least 20 houses burned. The affected families in Lagon and Grande Plaine—Savanne Carrée communities are still mourning their loved ones and pleading with the Haitian authorities for justice.

Mayor Sénéac described residents as living in constant fear and urgently called for enhanced security measures and increased local police presence in the region.

 “Despite efforts by the Departmental Director of the National Police, Jean Louis Paul Ménard, to secure more regional resources, the Gros-Morne municipality remains largely underserved,” Sénéac said. “A commune of nearly 160,000 inhabitants does not even have 15 on-duty police officers. We are left at the mercy of the gangs. This is a travesty of catastrophic proportion.”

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