At Least 70 People Dead in Gang Attack in Haiti

At least 70 people — including 10 women and three infants — were killed in a gang attack in central Haiti on Thursday that sent hundreds of people running for their lives, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office.

The attack, part of spreading violence in rural areas of the country,has posednew challenges for the international security force that has been deployed in Haiti since June,

The attack took place at about 3 a.m. in Pont-Sondé, roughly 60 miles north of Port-au-Prince, the capital. The town is in the Artibonite department, a key agricultural region that has seen a surge in gang violence, the Health Ministry said.

The attack was attributed to the members of the Gran Grif gang, whose members used automatic rifles to shoot at the population, according to a statement by the U.N. Human Rights Office. The U.N. said at least 16 people were seriously injured, including two gang members who were wounded during a gunfight with Haitian police.

Gang members reportedly set fire to at least 45 houses and 34 vehicles, forcing a number of residents to flee, the U.N. statement said, calling for more international security assistance to Haiti.

Gangs that the international security force has been set to confront are mostly concentrated in Port-au-Prince, but the Artibonite region has also seen a rise in violence.