Haitians mark Day of the Dead amid a surge in gang violence

Day of the Dead or Fèt Gede commemorations in Haiti were much more subdued on Friday as the country continues to experience a surge in violence.

It is an important annual ritual, two days in which Haitians gather in cemeteries to honour their ancestors.

As part of the voodoo festival, people light candles and make altars with bones, food, and jugs of moonshine rum to offer to the spirits of the dead in return for protection.

In the main cemetery in the capital, Port-au-Prince, they surround the tomb of the first person buried there.

It is believed it houses the remains of the guardian of the dead, known in Haitian voodoo as Baron Samedi.

However, few people ventured out to the cemetry on Friday morning after armed men were spotted there.

"It is because of the insecurity that the day is very different from past years. The people, the gede pilgrims, and the merchants who used to come, did not come. There is nothing,” said Raymond Valcin, director of the national cemetery.

It is located in an area that is part of the 85 per cent of Port-au-Prince already under the control of warring gangs.

A surge of violence that started in February this year has left thousands dead and injured and many more people homeless.

United Nations figures released on Wednesday show that more than 1,740 people were reported killed or injured in Haiti from July to September.

This is a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous trimester.

Voodoo is an official and widely practiced religion in Haiti, born in the 16th century when enslaved people blended West African religion and Catholicism.