Credit: "UNOCHA/Giles Clarke A man hangs onto the back of a bus in the troubled Delmas neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince."
As violence escalates in the Artibonite plains, the International Observatory for Democracy and Governance (OIDG) publicly denounced government inaction on Monday, April 6, 2026, highlighting the severe crisis and urging immediate intervention. In a sharply critical report, OIDG condemned the authorities’ lack of response to recent massacres by the Gran Grif gang, while expressing cautious hope regarding the arrival of Chadian troops for the Gang Repression Force (FRG).
Everything changed last week. Heavily armed men from the Gran Grif gang, well-known for spreading terror in the Lower Artibonite region, launched a coordinated offensive against several rural localities. The provisional toll, according to local sources relayed by the OIDG, is dozens dead, wounded by bullets or burns, and dozens of homes reduced to ashes. Survivors, mostly women and children, fled on foot to nearby towns, with nothing but fear in their bellies for shelter.
“The Observatory is appalled by the continued atrocities of armed gangs against the Haitian population,” the organization writes, pointing especially to “the silence of government authorities” following these acts, which it describes as “barbaric.” No official statement from Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé condemning this massacre has been made public, despite the severity of the facts.
The OIDG notes that, since the departure of the Presidential Transition Council (CPT), Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé has led the executive branch alone through the Council of Ministers. However, the Observatory’s president, Dr. Ambroise Guillaume, warns, “he does not have a blank check” and urges him to take “all necessary measures” to protect citizens, improve security, and, above all, organize general elections before the end of 2026.
OIDG stresses the main issue: the transition has lasted too long. The lack of an elected president for nearly five years has deepened Haiti’s legitimacy crisis, fueling ongoing chaos. “It is imperative to close this chapter,” sociologist Guillaume insists, reinforcing the call for urgent elections.
Furthermore, the Observatory noted the arrival in Haiti on April 1, 2026, of the special representative of the Gang Repression Force (FRG), Jack Christofides, accompanied by the first elements of a Chadian contingent. Fifty Chadian police officers and soldiers are already on the ground to prepare for the announced deployment of 750 soldiers from Chad, as part of a force authorized by the United Nations.
OIDG welcomes this “advance” but maintains that swift, concrete international and national actions are essential. The organization warns that only tangible results—not promises—will help counter the gangs that control 80% of the capital and are extending their power.
More expensive oil, poorer people
OIDG raises alarm about another urgent crisis: the government’s decision to increase petroleum product prices. The organization warns that this measure risks devastating consequences for an already struggling population and urges immediate action to prevent worsening hardship.
The Observatory warns that, without urgent government mitigation measures, a social explosion could worsen chronic insecurity.
In its conclusion, the International Observatory for Democracy and Governance reiterates its commitment to closely monitor the situation, to play “its full role as a watchdog,” and to continue its initiatives “to contribute to the lasting return of democratic order and stability to the country.”
Credit Odelyn Joseph Associated Press
