Heavily armed gangs launched large-scale attacks in Haiti's central Artibonite region over the weekend, killing men, women and children, setting homes ablaze and forcing hundreds to flee. A local official confirmed nearly a dozen deaths, including a mother and her child, as well as a government employee.
Police unions reported that 50% of the Artibonite region had fallen under gang control after assaults on towns including Bercy and Pont-Sondé. “The population cannot live, cannot work, cannot move,” the SPNH-17 police union said on social media, warning that losing the country's two largest departments—West and Artibonite—represented the greatest security failure in modern Haitian history.
Many survivors fled to the coastal town of Saint-Marc, where hundreds of angry residents demanded government action. “Give me the guns! I'm going to fight the gangs!” said Réné Charles, a survivor. Others threatened to take justice into their own hands, with one unidentified man stating, “We're not going to rely on the government any longer.”
The attacks, which began late Friday and Saturday, were broadcast live on social media and blamed on the Gran Grif gang. The same gang was responsible for an October 2024 massacre in Pont-Sondé that killed at least 100 people. Gran Grif leader Luckson Elan and former legislator Prophane Victor have been sanctioned by the UN and US.
Haiti's national police and Kenyan officers leading a UN-backed mission remain concentrated in the capital, Port-au-Prince, which is itself largely controlled by gangs. The UN reported that killings in Artibonite and Centre departments rose sharply from January to August 2025, with 1,303 victims compared to 419 in the same period of 2024.
More than half of Haiti's population faces crisis-level hunger, and ongoing violence has displaced a record 1.4 million people. Political activist Charlesma Jean Marcos urged survivors sleeping on streets to occupy police stations and government offices until the state can reclaim Artibonite, warning, “A lot of people are going to be hungry… we won't be able to support you forever.”
