At least 70 people were killed and 30 injured in an attack near Petite-Rivière in Haiti’s breadbasket Artibonite region, a human rights group said Monday, far higher than official estimates, which put the death toll at around 16.
Residents and officials told local media the attack began in the early hours of Sunday in rural communities around Jean-Denis, and continued into the early hours of Monday, with gang members storming the area and setting homes on fire.
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The Defenseurs Plus rights group said it estimated the violence had displaced 6,000 people. The UN estimated that more than 2,000 people left their homes in the days following raids by armed gangs nearby.
Police initially reported 16 dead and 10 injured, while a preliminary report from civil protection authorities said 17 had died and 19 were wounded, mostly men.
