Gay Couple Attacked at Private Engagement Party in Haiti

Two gay men were attacked Saturday as they celebrated their engagement at a private ceremony in Haiti, reports Agence France-Presse.

A homophobic mob threw rocks and Molotov cocktails that set two cars on fire and shattered the windows of the residence where the couple's ceremony had taken place in Port-au-Prince.

Several people were injured in the attack, with police arriving in time to prevent any deaths at the event celebrating the the engagement of a British Red Cross worker, identified only as Max, and his Haitian partner.

"This is a criminal act and homophobic," said Charlot Jeudy, an official from Kouraj (Courage), an LGBT rights group in Haiti. "There is no justification for this kind of attack on people in a private residence. Hopefully the justice authorities will react to the perpetrators of this act."

The victims have refused to speak about the attack publicly for fear they would become targets of more homophobic violence, but they have given assurances they were unharmed.

The incident is the latest in string of violent attacks on LGBT people in Haiti, following a recent march led by the Haitian Coalition of Religious and Moral Organizations that claimed a marriage equality bill was headed to parliament.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has condemned the increasing violence, saying, "It is imperative that Haiti [adopt] effective measures to prevent the repetition of these types of acts of violence and discrimination in the future."