
About 180 people were killed over the weekend in the Cite Soleil neighborhood near the Haitian capital, following attacks that were ordered by a gang leader who suspected his child had fallen ill after being bewitched.
"The red line was crossed," the prime minister's office said in a statement, stressing that "all forces would be mobilized" to bring to justice all those responsible, including the gang leader, Monel "Mikano" Felix, who is accused of planning the attack.
According to foreign media, most of the victims were elderly.
The National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH), a non-governmental organization in Haiti that monitors state institutions and promotes human rights education, said on Sunday that at least 110 people, all over the age of 60, had been killed in Cite Soleil over the weekend.
According to this organization, the toll could be higher as it quoted witnesses as saying that "mutilated bodies were burned in the streets, including several young people who were killed while trying to save residents."
The RNDDH network said Monel "Mikano" Felix ordered the attack after his child fell ill and sought advice from a voodoo priest who accused elders in the area of harming children through witchcraft. According to the organization, Felix's child died on Saturday afternoon.
Monel "Mikano" Felix did not comment on the allegations. Cite Soleil, a densely populated slum near the port of the capital Port-au-Prince, is among the poorest and most violent areas of Haiti.