PORT-AU-PRINCE, Sept 16, 2025 (AFP) - Over 50 people were killed in a series of Haitian gang attacks last week, a local human rights NGO reported Monday, in the crisis-wracked Caribbean nation's latest gruesome mass killing.

The attacks took place on September 11 and 12 in areas north of the capital Port-au-Prince, the National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH) said in a report sent to AFP.

"As of September 14, 2025, several victims had still not been found, while corpses still lay in the bushes, devoured by dogs," it said.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, has been gripped by soaring violence with swaths of the country and the vast majority of the capital Port-au-Prince under the control of armed gangs.

The situation deteriorated further in early 2024, when a coalition of gangs launched a wave of attacks, leading to prime minister Ariel Henry's resignation and handing over of power to a presidential transition council.

The deployment of a Kenyan-led multinational force to back up Haiti's police has also failed to quell the violence.

According to RNDDH, the "Viv Ansanm" gang coalition, which has been in control of the town of Cabaret since March 2024, "carried out an extremely cruel massacre against the civilian population" in the nearby town of Laboderie.

The area is located about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) north of the capital Port-au-Prince.

"They murdered more than 50 people and set fire to dozens of houses," the group said.

"A few survivors were able to flee to neighboring areas, while others took to the sea in boats to try to escape the attackers," it added.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned last month that "state authority is crumbling" in Haiti.

He warned the Security Council that violence was spreading beyond Haiti's capital, where gangs control over 90 percent of the territory.

On Sunday, he condemned the attack in the Cabaret commune, and called for countries to "expedite efforts towards strengthening the Multinational Security Support mission with logistics, personnel & funding."

At least 3,141 people were killed in the first half of this year, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.