Carnage in the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac: the survivors demand support from the state

Where the report of 10 May set out the war, this one counts it. Between 24 April and 6 May 2022 the 400 Mawozo attacked the base of the Chen Mechan in its stronghold at Croix-des-Missions, and in the fighting 191 people were killed: 107 men, 76 women, 6 girls and 2 boys. At least 18 women were raped and 17 of them were executed afterwards. At least 81 houses and 57 vehicles were burned, many people were wounded by gunfire or bladed weapons, and 158 children were orphaned. Of those killed, 48 were presented to the network as members or relatives of one of the two armed groups; the rest were not.

The body of the report is the detail behind those numbers, taken in sections: the people killed who are presented as civilians, the people killed who are presented as gang members, the women raped, the wounded, the houses looted or burned and the vehicles burned. Parents watched their children being executed and others were killed in front of their families. The network then reports its interviews with the judicial and police authorities and the state of the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac at the time of writing. Its recommendations include support for the survivors, an end to the distribution of weapons and ammunition to armed groups, and the re-establishment of the anti-smuggling brigades that would slow the illegal entry of weapons into the country.