Rights groups say churchgoers were killed and wounded as they marched in order to rid the area of gang members

At least seven people were killed in Haiti, a rights group said, after a powerful gang that controls a northern suburb of the capital, Port-au-Prince, opened fire with machine guns on a protest organised by a Christian church leader.

Hatian rights group CARDH director Gedeon Jean said the final number killed would probably be higher, adding that several people were wounded and some churchgoers had been kidnapped, after they marched through the community on Saturday trying to rid the area of gang members. Local media reported at least 10 participants were killed.

Human Rights Watch says country unable to protect citizens from killing and rape by armed gangs, and floats overseas peacekeepers

Human rights abuses in Haiti are soaring while the Haitian state is almost nonexistent and unable to protect its people from the brutality of armed gangs, Human Rights Watch has warned in a new report.

Rival criminal factions now have such a tight grip over the country that international security forces could be necessary to restore order, the rights groups said.

Footage shows men forced to lie on street by police before being killed and set on fire in broad daylight

• Haiti crisis: how did it get so bad, what is the role of gangs, and is there a way out?

Haiti’s tailspin into humanitarian crisis and bloodshed has racked up its latest moment of horror after at least a dozen suspected criminals were beaten to death and burned in broad daylight on the streets of its capital, Port-au-Prince.

Horrifying footage of the incident showed the bloodied men being forced to lie on the asphalt by rifle-wielding police before bystanders piled tyres on top of them, doused them with petrol and set them alight.