The small, central Haitian town of Pont-Sondé has been left reeling in the aftermath of Thursday's attack by the Gran Grif gang, which killed more than 70. Residents, including morgue driver Lunoir Jean Chavanne, express despair and blame the government for failing to prevent the bloodshed. Chavanne, who lost family members in the massacre, lamented, "I have to thank the government, because the gangs are killing people and kids cannot go to school."
The gang announced their deadly intentions more than once on social media, yet no action was taken to thwart the attack. Romain Le Cour, an expert with the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, described it as "the most terrifying massacre in decades in Haiti." The Gran Grif gang came into being after a former lawmaker armed young men nearly a decade ago in a bid to safeguard his win as well as control of the area, which features the mighty Artibonite River. Gang members used the river to muffle their approach, relying on canoes on Thursday.
The gang's leader, Luckson Elan, and former legislator Prophane Victor, who is accused of arming local youths, have been sanctioned by the UN and US. Yet the community remains on edge. A local self-defense group known as "The Coalition" had been trying to keep the Gran Grif gang at bay, but Haiti's National Human Rights Defense Network says their efforts actually angered the gang and prodded it to attack. "The night that they invaded, there was nothing that they were able to do," Chavanne said of the Coalition. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
