Killings along Haiti-DR border prompt Dominican authorities to expel 244 people

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – A Haitian priest and migrant advocate says Dominican authorities have expelled 244 Haitians after the killing of three people along the border between the two countries.

The Rev. Antoine Lissaint of the Jesuit Refugee and Migrant Organization said Sunday that people of Haitian descent were blamed for fatally stabbing a married Dominican couple. A Dominican mob retaliated by killing a Haitian man.

Haitians living in the southwestern Dominican town of Neiba for the past several years sought refuge at a police station because they feared reprisal. Police handed the group to Dominican soldiers who drove them to the border and expelled them back into Haiti.

Relations between the Caribbean neighbors have become increasingly strained since a Dominican court decision in September threatened to strip citizenship for people of Haitian descent.