The police station in Liancourt, in Haiti’s Artibonite department, was once again targeted on Monday, September 15, 2025, by heavily armed men affiliated with the Gran Grif gang from Savien. The assault, carried out in broad daylight, ended with the building set ablaze after several hours of gunfire.
According to videos shared on social media and eyewitness accounts, the attackers torched the station after exchanging heavy fire with officers from the Haitian National Police (PNH). The officers on duty were forced to retreat to save their lives. No casualties were reported among them.
“The terrorists of the Gran Grif criminal group in Artibonite destroyed the Liancourt police station,” said one worried resident, lamenting the community’s lack of state protection.
The burning of the police station is part of a series of recurring attacks in the region. In early September, a police operation in Liancourt left about ten suspected gang members dead, with one firearm and a motorcycle seized.
But reprisals have been deadly. On July 22, two police officers and two community watch brigadiers were killed in an ambush staged by Gran Grif. The assailants also set fire to an armored vehicle belonging to the PNH.
Since the appointment of Divisional Commissioner Jacques Ader as the new head of the Artibonite department on August 23, gang violence has escalated further. On August 24, in Gros Morne, the gang known as Ti Bwadom carried out a massacre, despite recent personnel changes at the local sub-station.
Police Station Repeatedly Targeted
The Liancourt station has already been attacked in the past. Under former Artibonite police director Paul Ménard Jean Louis, gangs had also set their sights on the facility before he was reassigned by then–PNH Director General Normil Rameau. At that time, police forces, with support from Kenyan contingents of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), managed to regain control of the building. The latest assault, however, underscores how tenuous security remains.
In the lower Artibonite, Gran Grif continues its abuses against civilians. On the same Monday morning, several homes were reportedly set on fire by the gang.
Residents of Liancourt denounce what they call an intolerable situation and are again urging the central government to intervene. They are demanding that equipment and reinforcements be sent to the department’s police command to strengthen operations against armed groups.
The surge in violence is also weighing on the upcoming school year, scheduled to begin on October 1 by the Ministry of Education. Many parents and teachers are voicing doubts over whether classes can open while gang violence continues to threaten daily life.
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