The Dominican Republic has thrown out at least 244 Haitians after an elderly couple were murdered in an apparent burglary near the border between the two countries and a mob retaliated by killing a Haitian man.
The Rev Antoine Lissaint of Haiti’s Jesuit Refugee and Migrant Organisation said a group of Dominicans killed the man because they blamed people of Haitian descent for the fatal stabbing of the couple.
Jose Mendez Diaz and Luja Encarnacion Diaz, both 70, were killed during a suspected break-in which the killers escaped with two sacks of coffee.
Detectives found a knife and stick at the scene.
A group of Haitians who had been living in the Dominican town of Neiba for the past few years sought refuge at a police station because they feared further reprisals, Mr Lissaint said. Police handed the group over to soldiers who drove them to the border and deported them to Haiti.
Migrant advocates said some of the expelled people were eager to leave because they feared more violence.
Haiti and the Dominican Republic have a long history of acrimony.
