Two nuns were among several people killed when an armed gang ran riot near the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, on Monday, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Max Leroy Mésidor, has confirmed.
The nuns belonging to the Order of Saint Teresa have been identified as Evanette Onezaire and Jeanne Voltaire, and their deaths come as the Vivre Ensemble coalition, a group uniting the country’s most powerful gangs, launched an offensive in a bid to take control of the country.
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Media reports said that they had sought refuge in a house as the gang attacked the prison and other public buildings in Mirebalais, 30 miles northeast of the capital.
Gang members found the Sisters’ hiding place and shot them dead. A young girl sheltering with them received gun wounds to her chest.
In a message to the Catholic Charity Aid to the Church in Need (CAN), Archbishop Mésidor wrote, “Several murders took place during this attack, including two Sisters from the local congregation of the Little Sisters of Saint Thérèse.”
Director of projects at ACN (International), Marco Mencaglia, said “We ask that God grant [Sisters Onezaire and Voltaire] eternal rest and we pray for their families and the safety of the congregation.”
Mencaglia added that the charity remains committed to supporting the Haitian Church, issuing “an urgent call for prayer in the face of the increased violence and its devastating impact on the community”.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had earlier this week condemned the attack by heavily armed gang members on the town of Mirebalais, 30 miles northeast of the capital.
The authorities said that during the attack, the gang members burnt several houses and vehicles, and fired automatic weapons.
The United Nations Security Council in 2023 passed a resolution for the Kenya-led MSS mission, aimed at combating gang violence and restoring stability in the country. Criminal gangs are seeking to take complete control of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and have launched several attacks, killing women and children among others.
MSS spokesman, Jack Ombaka, confirmed that two Kenyan officers were seriously injured during the latest gang attack and evacuated to the Dominican Republic for medical treatment.
“As in any mission, casualties are sometimes inevitable,” he said, without providing further details.
The killings of the two nuns recall the murder of Sister Luisa Dell’Orto in 2022 and the abduction of six religious sisters in January 2024, who were later released.
The recent offensive is seen as a retaliation against the Transitional Presidential Council’s (TPC) crackdown on criminal groups.
According to United Nations data, more than 4,200 people have been killed in Haiti between July 2024 and February 2025, while another 6,000 have been forced to flee their homes. The crisis continues to deepen as calls for urgent international intervention grow increasingly urgent. (CMC)
