At least 11 people died and more than 20 others were injured in a raid against a city in Haiti unleashed by the Gran Grif gang, Le Nouvelliste newspaper reported Thursday, as rival gangs seek to expand their influence outside the capital Port-au-Prince.

Thousands of residents fled the town of Pont Saude, some 100 kilometers north of the capital, and took refuge in the seaside community of St. Mark, according to the newspaper.

Other media estimated that the dead may be dozens.

The Haitian police limited themselves to confirming only that there are dead and seriously injured, without giving an account of victims. Later, he said elements of a special anti-gang unit had been sent to the area.

“The police have been officially ordered to restore order and prevent those who sow terror in the Artibonite department from doing more harm,” the Haitian Ministry of Justice said, assuring that “these crimes will not go unpunished.”

Members of the gang led by 36-year-old Laxon Elan, who was sanctioned by the UN last month, set fire to buildings and executed people in the middle of the street, Le Novelist newspaper reported.

Pont Sodet, a city with a large production of rice, is located in an area characterized as Haiti’s granary. It is built around a bridge at a crossroads connecting the capital with the north.

The Artibonite region has experienced some of the worst violence outside the capital and the situation complicates the response to the humanitarian crisis, with half the population facing acute food insecurity and thousands of people in Port-au-Prince effectively facing starvation.

The main port of the capital also continues to be out of order due to gang attacks.

The number of internally displaced by gang action has now topped 700,000, almost doubling in six months, despite an international force being deployed since the summer with the green light of the UN Security Council to help police regain control of situation.

The neighboring Dominican Republic announced on Wednesday that it would step up deportations of Haitian migrants, up to 10,000 a week, amid a worsening situation and slow and limited progress in Haiti after a few hundred members of the Multinational Mission were deployed. Security Support Agency (PASA), which Kenya has undertaken to lead.