Haiti: Gang Members Kill Dozens Near Port-au-Prince

At least 40 people were killed and dozens more wounded when gang members attacked a displaced persons shelter in a church outside Haiti's capital city of Port-au-Prince on Sunday night, according to the local mayor and the United Nations. The attack began around 10:30 p.m. and continued into the early hours of Monday morning. Searches are still ongoing, and some people remain missing, according to Mayor Massillon Jean of Kenscoff, the town where the church is located.

The UN has reported that the attack left at least 47 people dead and more than 22 injured, with the casualty figures potentially changing. Meanwhile, the RNDDH, a rights group, estimates that between 30 and 40 people were killed, with 15 to 20 injured. The office of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé condemned the "heinous attack" and stated that security forces were on high alert, with reinforcements being deployed to the area.

Residents have called for the local police chief to resign, alleging that the police failed to protect those sheltering in the church, which is situated just minutes away from the police station. Kenscoff lies in the hills outside the Haitian capital and has been plagued by gang violence for months. In early 2023, gang attacks resulted in over 260 deaths and damaged or destroyed 200 homes, displacing 3,000 people. Since then, at least 10 more attacks have occurred.

Kenscoff is strategically positioned overlooking several routes into Port-au-Prince. The local government has vowed that Kenscoff will not be abandoned and that Haiti will prevail against the criminal groups. The attack highlights the ongoing security situation in Haiti, where the capital and surrounding regions have increasingly come under the control of criminal alliances in recent years.

Efforts by the international community to support Haiti's under-equipped police force have not been successful in curbing the violent gangs. Haiti, the poorest nation in the Americas, faces deep-seated political instability, corruption, natural disasters, and gang violence, with nearly 1.5 million people currently displaced and more than five million facing severe food insecurity.

The violence worsened in 2024, following a wave of criminal activity that led to the resignation of the unelected prime minister. Haiti has not held an election since 2016, and its last president, Jovenel Moise, was assassinated in 2021. The country is scheduled to hold elections in December of this year.