Newlywed US missionaries killed as Haitian gangs raid compound
Two young newlywed US missionaries have been killed in Haiti as widespread gang violence continues to cripple the country.
Natalie Lloyd, 21, and her 23-year-old husband David, known as Davy, were killed along with their Missions in Haiti group’s director, 45-year-old Haitian Jude Montis, when two armed groups attacked their compound on Thursday evening.
The attack began when three trucks full of men arrived, beat Mr Lloyd and stole the organisation’s vehicles.
According to a statement by the missionary organisation – which received live information from the victims via a satellite internet link – the attack escalated when a second gang arrived and one of its members was killed.
“This gang went into full attack mode,” the organisation, which has been working with Haitian children since 2000, wrote online as the raid was still going on.
“They are holed up in there, the gangs have shot all the windows out of the house and continued to shoot.”
The deaths of the young couple and Mr Montis were confirmed by Oklahoma-based Missions in Haiti three hours later. “We all are devastated,” the group said in a statement, which added that all three had been shot.
Mrs Lloyd’s father, Ben Baker, a Missouri state senator, said: “They were attacked by gangs this evening and were both killed. They went to heaven together.”
Mr Montis had worked with the organisation for 20 years and left behind a wife and two young children.
Haiti has been beset by widespread gang violence since 2021, when president Jovenel Moïse was assassinated. Kidnappings, extortion and murder have plagued the Caribbean nation since.
But violence has escalated even further since February, after several gangs that normally fight each other decided to work together and fight the government.
Hospitals, government buildings, police stations and prisons have been attacked, while Ariel Henry, the prime minister, was forced to resign.
More than 2,500 people were killed or injured in the first three months of 2024 alone, according to the United Nations. António Guterres, the UN secretary-general;, has described the crisis as “a living nightmare”.
Kenyan peacekeepers to arrive in three weeks
Last year, Kenya offered to lead a UN-backed multinational security force to restore order to Haiti.
William Ruto, the president of Kenya, told the BBC on Saturday that his 2,500-strong peacekeeping police force is expected to arrive in about three weeks, after facing delays.
“We are looking at the horizon of between three weeks and thereabouts for us to be ready to deploy, once everything on the ground is set,” he said.
He added that Thursday’s deaths are “exactly” why his country was preparing to send in its police force. “We shouldn’t be losing people. We shouldn’t be losing missionaries,” he said.
On Friday, the White House also urged the rapid deployment of the multinational force.
“The security situation in Haiti cannot wait,” said a National Security Council spokesman.
