At least 207 people were killed by members of the Wharf Jeremie gang in the port neighborhood of Cite Soleil, Haiti, earlier this month, the UN said in a report released on Monday (23), revising upwards an initial death toll estimated at 187.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said at least 134 men and 73 women, most of them elderly people accused of witchcraft, were killed in less than a week of mass executions, kidnappings and attacks by about 300 members of the Wharf Jeremie gang.
The gang’s leader, Monel “Mikano” Felix, ordered the attacks after his son fell ill, accusing local residents of causing the illness through voodoo. Many of the victims were kidnapped from voodoo temples and religious ceremonies, the UN said.
The killings shocked the Caribbean nation, which has been embroiled in a worsening gang conflict, worsening food shortages, while neighboring countries have delayed delivering long-promised security aid.
Mikano’s gang has controlled a small but strategic area between key ports, surrounding warehouses and national highways outside the capital for about 15 years, according to the UN.
More than 5,300 people have been killed in Haiti since January and more than 12,000 since the beginning of 2022, according to the UN, while more than 700,000 have been internally displaced.
This content was originally published in More than 200 people are killed in massacre in Haiti, says UN on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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