AMERICA/HAITI - Archbishop of Port-au-Prince after massacre: "The people are exhausted"

Port-au-Prince (Agenzia Fides) - "The people are exhausted. They are asking the State for help," said the President of the Haitian Bishops' Conference and Archbishop of Port-au-Prince Max Leroy Mésidor, in his condolences for the victims of the massacre on October 3 in Pont Sondé.
The massacre was carried out in the early hours of October 3 by members of the armed gang "Gran Grif de Savien" in Pont Sondé, between the municipalities of Saint-Marc and Estère (Artibonite department). At least 70 people were killed, including 10 women and 3 children. The attack injured 16 people and set fire to 45 houses. More than 6,000 people fled the area after the massacre.
"The country is completely sick. But the situation in the west and in Artibonite, the two largest departments, is even worse," affirms Mésidor, who wonders if there is a conspiracy to destroy these two territories in particular and the country in general. "For two years, the municipality of Petite Rivière de l'Artibonite has been abandoned. No police presence. The same goes for the town of Liancourt. These two areas where life was once vibrant are now overwhelmed by despair."
In recent years, the Artibonite department in the west of the country has been overrun by gang violence, with civilians caught in the crossfire. From April to June 2024, gang attacks in Gros-Morne, L'Estère, Liancourt, Petite Rivière de l'Artibonite and Terre Neuve claimed at least 76 lives, including children, according to the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH).
The Artibonite department is considered the breadbasket of Haiti because of its rice production. The severe instability in the region has contributed to the food crisis, which is contributing to the security crisis in a country that seems unable to find peace. According to a group of NGOs working in Haiti, 5.4 million Haitians suffer from severe food insecurity, of whom 2 million - about 18% of the population - suffer from severe hunger.
Across Haiti, more than 700,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since 2023 to escape gang violence and widespread insecurity. In the first half of 2024 (January to June), the United Nations recorded a total of 3,638 murders, an increase of almost 74 percent compared to 2023.
Meanwhile, Interim Prime Minister Garry Conille traveled to the United Arab Emirates and Kenya to call for the reinforcement of the international security mission in Haiti, which so far consists of only 400 police officers, mostly Kenyan. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 7/10/2024)

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