REUTERS
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) -Armed men belonging to the Gran Grif gang killed at least 70 people as they passed through a Haitian town with automatic rifles shooting at residents, a spokesperson for the United Nations' Human Rights Office said on Friday.
"We are horrified by Thursday's gang attacks in the town of Pont-Sonde in Haiti's Artibonite department," spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said in a statement.
At least another 16 people were seriously injured in the attack in the early hours of Thursday, according to the U.N., as gang members reportedly set fire to at least 45 houses and 34 vehicles, forcing residents to flee their homes.
"This odious crime against defenseless women, men and children is not only an attack against victims but against the entire Haitian nation," Prime Minister Garry Conille said on X.
"Security forces, backed by our international partners, are reinforcing their intervention."
In an audio message shared on social media on Thursday, Gran Grif leader Luckson Elan, who was sanctioned by the U.N. last month, blamed the state and victims for the attacks, accusing residents of remaining passive while his soldiers were killed by police or vigilante groups.
"It's Pont-Sonde residents who are at fault. What happened in Pont-Sonde is the fault of the state," he said.
Local media had reported on Thursday that thousands of residents from Pont-Sonde were making their way toward the coastal town of Saint-Marc.
Pont-Sonde is a major rice producer located in Haiti's breadbasket region at an important crossing connecting the capital Port-au-Prince to the north.
(Reporting by Harold Isaac and Sarah Morland; Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Bill Berkrot)
