Haitian mayor says 30 people killed in violent weekend attacks

A powerful gang coalition attacked a once-peaceful farming community nestled in the hills above Haiti’s capital, killing multiple people, an official told The Associated Press on Monday.

Jean Massillon, mayor of Kenscoff, said armed men raided the community late on Sunday, setting fire to homes and killing residents.

“It is still impossible to establish a definitive death toll due to access difficulties and communication problems,” he told the Associated Press.

Massillon, speaking separately to Reuters, said at least 30 people had been killed.

WATCH | CBC got access in June as UN’s secretary general toured Haiti:

UN chief visits Haiti as new Gang Suppression Force moves in

‘Sowed chaos’

Wails filled the air in Kenscoff as survivors found the bodies of friends and family strewn on the streets early Monday.

Farmer Mathurin Pierre, 41, told The Associated Press that he lost 14 loved ones and that an unknown number remain missing.

Massillon blamed the attack on members of Viv Ansanm, which the U.S. government designated as a foreign terrorist organization last year.

“They sowed chaos,” Massillon said.

He said gang members targeted a church and homes, including those owned by Dr. Jean (Bill) Pape. He is a renowned doctor who runs a non-governmental organization in Haiti that helps patients, including those with HIV and tuberculosis.

No further details about the attack were available. A spokesperson for the U.N.-backed gang suppression force did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Gangs control an estimated 70 per cent of Port-au-Prince, the capital, with Viv Ansanm repeatedly targeting nearby Kenscoff.

Gang violence has displaced a record 1.5 million people across Haiti, where more than 3,100 people were reported killed from January to June and another 1,189 injured, according to UN statistics.

Quebec advocates urge Canada to protect Haitian refugees fearing U.S. deportation

In June, the U.S. removed protections that prevented Haitians from being deported. Now, some advocates say Canada needs to rethink its Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S. for Haitians seeking asylum.

The attack comes less than a week after the U.S. government deported more than 160 people to the troubled Caribbean country for the first time since the Trump administration won a legal battle to end temporary protected status (TPS) for some 350,000 Haitians.

Haiti’s government has said some of the deportees included TPS holders working legally in the U.S. and even some who were Haitian in origin but not born in Haiti. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to the AP on Monday that those deported on Friday included several gang members with criminal records ranging from assault to drug trafficking.

Haiti is scheduled to hold general elections for the first time in more than a decade on Dec. 13, and it has been registering voters in Port-au-Prince and beyond. Experts have warned it’s currently too dangerous to hold elections.