Protesters in Haiti take over Saint-Marc city hall demanding protection from gangs

Hundreds of protesters in Haiti’s Saint-Marc took over the local city hall on Monday, demanding protection from gang violence.

Over the weekend, heavily armed gangs attacked Haiti’s central region, killing men, women and children as they set fire to homes.

Political activists say that authorities had been alerted to the increase in gang activity in the area:

"Since Monday, there has been an alert regarding Pont-Sonde, an area where bandits from Savien say they will attack us to take over the Pont-Sonde territory," activist Chalesma Jean Marcos said during the protest on Monday. "Afterwards, they will move towards Saint-Marc. We have conducted all the necessary awareness campaigns with everyone involved, including the mayor, minister, police chief, and everyone else."

Police have called for emergency backup, claiming that half the central Artibonite region has fallen under gang control after attacks on the towns of Bercy and Pont-Sondé.

Much of the country’s police force is in Port-au-Prince, alongside Kenyan officers leading a UN-backed mission to repel gangs in the capital.

A spokesperson for Haiti’s National Police did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Rise in killings

This weekend's attacks began late Friday and late Saturday, with gang members broadcasting them live on social media. The attacks were blamed on the Gran Grif gang, which operates in the area and was responsible for an attack on Pont-Sondé in October 2024 that killed at least 100 people, one of the biggest massacres in Haiti’s recent history.

Gran Grif is considered one of Haiti’s cruelest gangs. Its leader, Luckson Elan, recently was sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council and the US government. Also sanctioned was Prophane Victor, a former legislator that the UN has accused of arming young men in the Artibonite region.

The UN has said killings have risen dramatically in Haiti’s Artibonite and Centre departments this year, with 1,303 victims reported from January to August, compared with 419 during the same period in 2024.

“These assaults underscore the capacity of gangs to consolidate control across a corridor from the Centre to the Artibonite amid limited law enforcement presence and logistical constraints,” a recent UN report stated.