At least 110 people were massacred in a slum in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. The incident came after a gang leader appeared to have targeted people he suspected of causing his child’s illness through witchcraft.
Key points
- The National Human Rights Defence Network (RNDDH) reported that gang leader Monel Mikano Felix ordered the killings after a voodoo priest claimed elderly people in Wharf Jeremie had cursed his son.
- Cité Soleil, a densely populated slum in Port-au-Prince, is one of Haiti’s poorest and most violent areas, tightly controlled by gangs with restricted mobile phone use.
- Haiti has been wracked by brutal gang violence in recent years.
- Voodoo, with West African roots, has been practiced in Haiti since the late 18th century and is officially recognised as a religion equal to others.
