Gang leader’s witchcraft accusations sparked Haiti massacre that left 110 dead: rights group

At least 110 people were killed over the weekend in Haiti’s Cite Soleil slum when a gang leader targeted elderly people he suspected of causing his child’s illness through witchcraft, the National Human Rights Defence Network (RNDDH) said on Sunday.

All the victims were aged over 60, the rights group said.

Wharf Jeremie gang leader Monel “Mikano” Felix ordered the massacre after his child became sick, RNDDH said, saying that he sought advice from a Voodoo priest who accused elderly people in the area of harming the child through witchcraft.

Gang members killed at least 60 people on Friday and 50 on Saturday using machetes and knives, it said.

Cite Soleil, a densely populated slum by the port of the capital Port-au-Prince, is among the poorest and most violent areas of Haiti.

Tight gang control, including the restriction of mobile phone use, has limited residents’ ability to share information about the massacre.