Authorities in Haiti investigate the discovery of 16 bodies at a house

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – Haitian authorities are investing the cause of the deaths of 16 people, whose bodies were found at a house in the mountain town of Sequin in southern Haiti, a day after the family attended a funeral.

The top official in Haiti's South East Department, Jude Pierre Michel Lafontant, confirmed that police and health officials have been dispatched to the area to investigate the incident.

The authorities in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country have so far not linked the deaths to gang violence that has become a daily part of life in the country ever since President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in July 2021.

Last week, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) called for access without hindrance for humanitarian agencies and the free movement of food in order to prevent an already disastrous food insecurity from becoming catastrophic in the country.

It said the recent upsurge in violence has prevented the UN organisation from helping more than 370,000 Haitians among those most affected by food insecurity since the beginning of February.

Currently, 44 per cent of Haitians face acute food insecurity and struggle to feed their families.

Meanwhile, media reports said on Sunday that in the area known as Morne à Cabrit members of the “400 Mawozo” gang fired several gunshots at a minibus that shuttles between Port-au-Prince and Mirebalais.

The reports said that at least 10 people including the driver was killed during the attack.

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