Haiti gang massacres at least 110 people, all aged above 60, in slum

At least 110 people were killed over the weekend in Haiti's Cite Soleil slum when a gang leader targeted people over the age of 60 he suspected of causing his child's illness through witchcraft, the National Human Right Defence Network (RNDDH) said on Dec 9.

The gang leader, known as Monel "Mikano" Felix, along with his Viv Ansanm group, were responsible of the massacre.

RNDDH said that after Felix's child became sick, he sought advice from a voodoo priest who accused elderly people in the area of harming the child through witchcraft, triggering the gang leader to order the massacre.

Gang members killed at least 60 people on Dec 7 and 50 on Dec 8 using machetes and knives, all of them aged over 60, 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, limited residents' ability to share information about the massacre.

Felix, was in 2022 banned from entering neighbouring Dominican Republic.

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