Tuesday, at about 1am, a merchant, Massilot Belton (37), a father of five, was shot dead on the banks of the Massacre River separating the two countries at the official Ouanaminthe-Dajabón border crossing.

According to testimonies collected and reported by Mireille Pierre, representative of the Group of Support to the Returnees and Refugees (GAAR) for this zone "The victim would have received a call from a Dominican national before walking on the edge of the Massacre River where armed and hooded civilians on the other side of the border have shot at him [...]"

Still according to what is reported "although touched by several bullets on the arm and the leg the victim still lived when a man crossed the river to finish and strip him of his property..."

GARR strongly condemns this crime and calls on the Haitian authorities to demand from the Dominican State an investigation to identify the perpetrators of this crime and bring them to justice.

IH/ iciHaiti