Around 180 people were killed over the weekend in the Cite Soleil neighborhood near the capital of Haiti, the country’s Prime Minister’s office said on Monday, following attacks that, according to a non-governmental organization, were ordered by a gang leader who suspected his child had become ill after being subjected to witchcraft.
“The red line has been crossed,” said the Prime Minister’s office in a statement, emphasizing that “all forces will be mobilized” to bring all those responsible to justice, including the leader of the gang, Monel “Mikano” Felix, who is accused of planning the attack.
According to the statement, most of the victims were elderly.
The National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH), a non-governmental organization in Haiti that monitors state institutions and promotes human rights education, said on Sunday that at least 110 people, all over 60 years old, were killed in Cite Soleil over the weekend.
According to this organization, the death toll could be higher, as witnesses reported that “mutilated bodies were burned on the streets, including some young people who were killed while trying to save residents.”
The RNDDH network said Monel “Mikano” Felix had ordered the attack after his child fell ill and sought advice from a priest of the ‘vodou’ religious sect, who accused elderly people in the area of harming children through witchcraft. According to the organization, Felix’s child died on Saturday afternoon.
Reuters news agency was unable to independently verify the data reported by the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH).
Monel “Mikano” Felix did not comment on the accusations.
Cite Soleil, a poor, densely populated neighborhood near the port of the capital Port-au-Prince, is among the most impoverished and violent areas in Haiti.
The strict control by gangs, including restrictions on cellphone use, has limited residents’ ability to exchange information about the massacre.
The government, embroiled in internal political clashes, has been unable to curb the growing power of gangs within and around the capital. Armed groups are accused of indiscriminate killings, gang rapes, kidnappings, and causing food shortages.
