HAITIAN parishioners marching to rid their community of gangs were gunned down by gangsters yesterday.

At least 10 people were killed, according to local media, after a pastor led the group armed with machetes through the streets of Canaan on the outskirts of Port au Prince.

The makeshift town, founded by people made homeless by a devastating earthquake in 2010, is controlled by a gang leader known only as Jeff, who is believed to be allied with the Five Seconds gang.

Gangs control an estimated 80 per cent of Port au Prince and have grown more powerful since the July 2021 assassination of president Jovenel Moise.

Haitian rights group CARDH director Gedeon Jean told reporters he watched the event unfold online and planned to ask the Ministry of Justice to investigate.

He accused the pastor of being irresponsible because he “engaged a group of people and put them in a situation like this.”

The parishioners, who clutched machetes and yelled “Free Canaan!” were no match for gang members armed with assault rifles.

“Police should have stopped them from going,” Mr Jean said. 

A spokesperson for Haiti’s National Police did not return a message for comment.

From January 1 to August 15 more than 2,400 people have been killed, more than 950 kidnapped and another 902 injured, according to UN statistics for Haiti.

Fed up with the relentless surge in gang violence, Haitians have organised a violent movement in April known as “bwa kale” that targets suspected gang members. 

More than 350 people have been killed since the uprising began, according to the UN.

In October, the Haitian government requested the deployment of a foreign armed force to help quell gang violence.

Kenya has offered to lead a multinational force and recently sent a delegation of top officials to Haiti as part of a reconnaissance mission.

But there is opposition to the move within Haiti as well as internationally with many remembering the past lengthy occupations of the country by the United States and UN forces.