A gruesome hours-long gang attack in Haiti a couple of days ago left dozens dead, torching homes and cars, while forcing thousands more to run for their lives, in the latest blow to a country that has suffered extreme violence for years.

A gang leader said the bloodshed was meant to cut the capital off from a rice-growing region of Haiti amid starvation conditions.

Sonde, killing at least 70, including infants. The attack exacerbates the region's violence and hunger crisis, with over 700,000 displaced. Despite international calls, a formal U.N. peacekeeping mission was blocked,