Savien Gang Kills 8 in Kafou Robert, Saint-Marc Area — Artibonite Violence Escalates While PM Is in Rome

On Saturday, May 9, 2026, armed members of the Savien gang attacked the community of Kafou Robert, located in the fourth section of the commune of Saint-Marc, Artibonite Department, killing at least 8 residents and wounding 3 others. The attack underscores the continuing escalation of gang violence in the Artibonite following Viv Ansanm's destruction of the Marchand-Dessalines police station on May 7 and the IOM-documented displacement of 4,419 people from Petite-Rivière de l'Artibonite and Dessalines in the May 2–7 window. The Savien gang — associated with the Gran Grif network and the broader Viv Ansanm coalition — has been consolidating territorial control along the Route Nationale 1 corridor, using extortion, displacement, and targeted killings to undermine both state authority and rival armed groups. Kafou Robert is within the security zone where Saint-Marc's municipal authorities imposed a nightly curfew (8:30 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.) on May 5 due to deteriorating conditions — indicating the curfew has not deterred gang activity in the wider commune. The attack occurred while Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé was in Rome for his May 8–11 papal and diplomatic mission, drawing criticism from Haitian civil society observers who contrasted the PM's foreign tour with simultaneous gang killings in the country. The GSF advance force (~545 personnel) remains deployed exclusively in Port-au-Prince, with no international security presence available to respond in the Artibonite.