Haitian gangs press fresh attacks as families mourn massacre

By Steven Aristil

SAINT-MARC, Haiti (Reuters) - Armed men launched fresh attacks on the Haitian town of Arcahaie, local media reported on Wednesday, as families mourned the growing list of victims of a massacre days earlier in an agricultural town some 60 km (37 miles) to the north.

Residents in Arcahaie, known as the birthplace of the Haitian flag, have been calling for security reinforcements in face of attacks by members of Jeff Larose's Canaan gang, several Haitian outlets reported.

Police did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Larose's gang controls the surrounding areas around the highway that connects the capital with Haiti's north. Last year, his men opened fire on dozens of Protestant parishioners protesting against the violence. They later circulated footage of them beating and torturing kidnapped members of the protest.

The Caribbean nation is battling a worsening gang conflict that is exacerbating catastrophic shortages in food and medical supplies. Over 700,000 people have fled their homes and over 5 million are going hungry - nearly half the population.

The United Nations a year ago approved the deployment of a security force to help police restore order, but so far a small fraction of the thousands of troops promised have been deployed and just $85 million has been paid into a dedicated fund.

Meanwhile, gangs have continued to gain territory.

Members of the Gran Grif gang in Haiti's farming region last week attacked the town of Pont-Sonde overnight. A local mayor told reporters at least 115 people were killed in the attack, during which armed men went door to door shooting residents and met no police resistance.

Guerby Simeus, a Pont-Sonde official, told Le Nouvelliste newspaper on Wednesday that police stationed nearby arrived hours later. Another local representative said local police had stayed away possibly fearing they could not resist the gang.

The police have since replaced their regional chief.

Simeus blasted Prime Minister Garry Conille's "cosmetic visit that brought nothing to the community of Pont-Sonde." Conille has since traveled abroad to seek more security support.

A woman who just gave her name as Silfise, told Reuters this week she had she had fled to nearby Saint-Marc after losing much of her family in the attack: "They were buried without a funeral. They dug holes and put them inside."

Another resident, Evance Francois said his nephew, Jean-Louis Jeune, had come back from neighboring Dominican Republic to build a family before he was killed in the massacre.

The Dominican Republic this month ramped up deportations of Haitians as part of a plan to deport 10,000 migrants per week.

(Reporting by Steven Aristil and Sarah Morland; Editing by Sandra Maler)