At least 70 people have been killed and around 30 others injured after a violent gang assault in Haiti's Artibonite region, according to a human rights organization, which described the incident as a massacre. The figures sharply exceed earlier official estimates.

Initial police reports put the death toll at 16 with 10 injured, while civil protection authorities later revised the numbers to 17 dead and 19 wounded. The Collective Defending Human Rights, however, said the true toll was far higher and that the attack also forced nearly 6,000 residents to abandon their homes.

The rights group also criticized local authorities, arguing that the absence of an effective security response and failure to protect the region reflected a serious lack of responsibility. It said the situation exposed ongoing gaps in state control in the area.

The United Nations Secretary-General's spokesperson, Antonio Guterres, also addressed the incident, strongly condemning the violence. He noted that casualty estimates remain inconsistent, ranging from 10 to as many as 80, but stressed the seriousness of the situation.

Officials said the attack took place around 3 a.m. on Sunday in the Jean-Denis area and was carried out by armed members of the Gran Grif gang. The region has become increasingly unstable as gang activity spreads beyond the capital, Port-au-Prince, into key agricultural areas like Artibonite.

The violence comes after recent UN-linked assessments reported more than 2,000 people displaced by similar raids in nearby Verrettes, which also triggered further displacement in Petite-Rivire. The wider region has seen repeated episodes of gang-related attacks in recent months.

In March, the United States offered a reward of up to $3 million for information on the financial networks of Gran Grif and Viv Ansanm, both of which have been designated as terrorist organizations by Washington. The groups remain active despite intensified pressure.

Haitian security forces, supported by a UN-backed international mission and a US private military contractor, have increased operations against armed gangs controlling large parts of the capital. However, no major gang leaders have been captured so far.

Since 2021, gang violence in Haiti has displaced over one million people, contributed to worsening food insecurity, and caused nearly 20,000 deaths nationwide, with figures continuing to rise annually.