Mon Dec 23 22:28:18 UTC 2024: ## UN Confirms 207 Killed in Brutal Haiti Gang Massacre

**Port-au-Prince, Haiti** – The United Nations has confirmed a horrific mass killing in Port-au-Prince’s Cite Soleil slum, raising the death toll to 207. A new UN report details the massacre, which occurred between December 6th and 11th in the Wharf Jeremie neighborhood, revealing that 134 men and 73 women were murdered by a gang led by Micanor Altes, alias “King Micanor.”

The victims, including numerous elderly individuals and Vodou religious leaders, were abducted from their homes and a place of worship, interrogated, and then executed with bullets and machetes. Their bodies were subsequently burned and thrown into the sea. While human rights groups initially estimated over 100 deaths, the UN investigation uncovered the significantly higher figure.

The UN’s Special Representative in Haiti, María Isabel Salvador, condemned the killings, calling for a thorough investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators and their accomplices. The Haitian government has also acknowledged the massacre and pledged to bring those responsible to justice.

This brutal incident highlights the escalating gang violence plaguing Haiti, which has intensified since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. The UN reports over 5,358 deaths and 2,155 injuries in gang-related violence this year alone, with over 17,000 casualties since the beginning of 2022. The gang violence has left the Haitian government with little control over large swaths of the capital, forcing the UN to relocate some personnel due to escalating insecurity. The closure of Port-au-Prince’s international airport due to gunfire further underscores the crisis.

The UN Security Council has condemned the killings and expressed deep concern over the overall situation in Haiti, including food insecurity and the recruitment of children by gangs. Discussions are underway regarding potential international intervention, including the possibility of reinstating a full-scale peacekeeping operation, despite the mixed results of previous deployments. The killings are believed to have stemmed from Altes’s accusations that residents had cursed his son, who recently died.

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