Haitian Gang Attack Leaves 47 Dead, At Least 50 Kidnapped
Armed gangs killed at least 47 people and kidnapped more than 50 others in a hillside community above Haiti’s capital over the weekend, the United Nations said.
The raid struck Kenscoff, near Port-au-Prince, on the night of Aug. 23.
At least five of the dead were children, according to the U.N. office in Haiti.
Twenty-two victims were reportedly executed in a church compound where they had sought shelter, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said.
Guterres condemned the attack Tuesday and said it underscored “the alarming security conditions in Haiti,” according to NBC News.
Kenscoff Mayor Jean Massillon said the attackers burned more than two dozen homes.
Massillon blamed members of Viv Ansanm, a gang coalition the United States designated as a foreign terrorist organization last year.
A gang figure who identified himself as Izo 2, also known as “Didi,” posted a video with a warning to Haiti’s national police director, Vladimir Paraison, that his group will not hesitate to harm the hostages.
“Paraison, if any of our soldiers are hurt, I will kill all of them,” he said.
WARNING: The following social media post contains scenes of the aftermath of gang violence that some may find disturbing.
🇭🇹 At least 47 people were killed and 22 wounded in a heavily armed gang attack on Kenscoff, a farming community in the hills above Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, according to the UN.
At least 5 children were among the dead, while more than 50 people were abducted in what the…
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) August 25, 2026
Officials described the abductions as one of the largest mass kidnappings in Haiti in recent years.
Armed groups control an estimated 70 percent of Port-au-Prince, as well as large portions elsewhere in the nation.
Gang violence killed more than 3,050 people in the first six months of 2025 alone, and has driven some 1.5 million people from their homes.
Nearly 800 rapes were reported from April to June, and 87 percent of those cases were described as collective rapes.
Kenscoff sits in the hills above the capital and overlooks routes into Pétion-Ville. Gangs, seeking to surround the upscale community and gain control of the roadways, have targeted the area since a major attack in January 2025. Sunday’s raid was the largest so far.
The violence comes as the Trump administration has begun removing Haitians from the United States after Temporary Protected Status ended. The Western Journal reported last week that the first post-TPS flight carried more than 160 people to Haiti, most of them criminals with lengthy rap sheets.
The Department of Homeland Security said that flight included people with convictions for sex crimes against minors, drug trafficking and gang activity.
DHS earlier this summer deported more than 100 Haitians with criminal convictions, including sex offenses, carjacking, drug trafficking and fraud.
Haiti’s government said security forces were on alert and that reinforcements were being sent to the area.
The hostages remained in gang custody, as of the latest reports.
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