Overview:
At least seven people were killed in a gang attack in Seguin, Marigot, where armed men also burned a police station, as violence spreads beyond Port-au-Prince into southeastern Haiti. The attackers also burned a local police station and destroyed police vehicles, prompting urgent calls for authorities to regain control of the area.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Armed men killed at least seven people and burned a police station on the night of April 13 in southeastern Haiti as residents come under increasing attack while gang violence spreads beyond the capital into new regions.
The killing took place in Seguin, a locality in the commune of Marigot, where attackers also set fire to police vehicles, Lionel Lazarre, a former spokesperson for the Haitian National Police, said Tuesday via his X account. He warned that the situation remains critical and that the population continues to call for help in the face of the gang assault.
“We are issuing an urgent appeal to the authorities, especially the Haitian National Police, to take swift action to regain control of the area, protect people’s lives, and prevent further casualties,” Lazarre said, warning that “Seguin must not become a lost territory.”
For now, the reasons for the attack are not yet known, and the identity of the armed group that orchestrated it has not yet been revealed. However, this assault has left the commune of Marigot in mourning and anguish, as residents grieve the victims.
The identity of the armed group remains unclear, and authorities have not said what triggered the attack. Residents, however, described a scene of fear and devastation. Videos circulating on social media show several victims burned and lying side by side. Three of the victims were identified by locals as Sonet Andresen, Joel and Jeff.
“Look at the condition of my people on the ground, my God. Jeff is dead on the ground,” a voice says in the video. “All the men are dead,” another voice responds.
The attack has left the Marigot community in mourning and underscored the growing reach of armed groups into areas once considered relatively calm.
The violence extends beyond the Southeast. In the Artibonite region, the Savien gang attacked the localities of Kapenyen and Esther the same day, burning several homes, according to local media reports. No official death toll has been released.
In videos circulating on social media, heavily armed men appeared, seemingly celebrating their attack on the towns.
This new attack in Artibonite comes more than two weeks after the late-March assault carried out by another armed group, the Gran Grif gang, in the locality of Jean-Denis, which left more than 70 people dead, dozens injured, and over 50 houses burned.
The massacre underscores the rapid expansion of gang violence beyond Port-au-Prince into regions like Artibonite and the Centre department — areas once considered relatively stable but now increasingly under daily threats.
Across Haiti, armed groups have tightened their control over roads and key farming areas, disrupting food supply routes and displacing communities. In many areas, authorities’ presence remains minimal or absent.
Despite the Haitian National Police’s ongoing operations against criminal groups and the gradual deployment of an international security force, attacks on civilians continue, with little visible state presence in many affected areas.
The United Nations estimates that more than 1.5 million people are now displaced, while thousands have been killed since 2022.
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