Haiti’s Gros-Morne mayor urges residents to flee gang-controlled areas as violence escalates

GONAÏVES — Gros-Morne’s interim mayor has urged residents to temporarily leave communities controlled by the Kokorat San Ras gang as violence continues to escalate in Haiti’s Artibonite department. Hubert Cénéac said authorities have established a permanent UN-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF) base in nearby Grépin to regain control, but departmental police say they were not informed of the evacuation plan.

“We are calling for the evacuation of residents living in the communal sections affected by this wave of insecurity,” Cénéac said in an interview with The Haitian Times last week.

Violence in the city, which has long suffered repeated criminal attacks and massacres, escalated after gang retaliation following a late-September security operation conducted by the GSF in support of the Haitian National Police (PNH) there.

Initial reports counted the dead at least 14, including 11 civilians and three alleged gang members. According to CénéacHubert, the number of killed was at least 34, including 19 civilians and 15 suspected gang members. The mayor also said six people had experienced mental health crises. Clashes and threats from armed groups have forced families to seek refuge in Gros-Morne city center, while damage to roads and insecurity have disrupted traffic along a key route connecting Artibonite to Haiti’s Northwest Department and the country’s south.