Haiti’s Gros-Morne mayor urges residents to flee gang-controlled areas as violence escalates

GONAÏVES — Gros-Morne’s interim mayor has urged residents to temporarily leave communities controlled by the Kokorat San Ras gang as violence continues to escalate in Haiti’s Artibonite department. Hubert Cénéac said authorities have established a permanent UN-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF) base in nearby Grépin to regain control, but departmental police say they were not informed of the evacuation plan.

“We are calling for the evacuation of residents living in the communal sections affected by this wave of insecurity,” Cénéac said in an interview with The Haitian Times last week.

Violence in the city, which has long suffered repeated criminal attacks and massacres, escalated after gang retaliation following a late-September security operation conducted by the GSF in support of the Haitian National Police (PNH) there.

Initial reports counted the dead at least 14, including 11 civilians and three alleged gang members. According to CénéacHubert, the number of killed was at least 34, including 19 civilians and 15 suspected gang members. The mayor also said six people had experienced mental health crises. Clashes and threats from armed groups have forced families to seek refuge in Gros-Morne city center, while damage to roads and insecurity have disrupted traffic along a key route connecting Artibonite to Haiti’s Northwest Department and the country’s south.

The developments highlight the challenges authorities face as they try to reclaim gang-controlled territory while protecting civilians and keeping vital transportation corridors open. The mayor called for residents to leave affected areas, but the departmental police said it had no information about the plan, raising questions about coordination among authorities responsible for civilian protection.

Authorities plan permanent security base

Cénéac said municipal and departmental authorities agreed on a new security strategy to reinforce operations alongside GSF personnel and establish a permanent military base in Gros-Morne. The decision reportedly followed a coordinated meeting on Oct. 6.

“We are working closely with the gang suppression forces— step by step — to succeed in eradicating these armed groups,” he said.

The mayor added that the GSF base in Grépin, located within the Rivière-Blanche communal section—a Kokorat San Ras stronghold—gives security personnel better conditions to conduct operations.

“We have set up enough spaces there so that the international military force can operate with peace of mind during their missions,” he said.

The plan comes as armed groups continue to threaten residents in six of the commune’s eight sections. Cénéac said operations would continue region-wide and called on residents to leave temporarily to reduce the risk of family casualties.

However, PHN’s spokesperson in the Artibonite Department, Féquière Casséus, said the force had not been informed of the mayor’s evacuation plan.

“As far as the police are concerned, we are unaware of this evacuation plan,” Casséus told T he Haitian Times last Friday.

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