TRUMP DEPORTS HAITIANS TO HELL

At least 40 killed as gangs attack displaced people near Haiti capital

At least 40 people have been killed, some execution-style, after gangs attacked displaced people sheltering in a church near Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince at the weekend, local authorities said.


Issued on: 25/08/2026 - RFI

People watch as the bodies of their relatives who were killed in a gang attack are carried away by morgue workers in the Kenscoff neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, 24 August 2026. © AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph

Many others were injured and some remain missing after the attack, which comes as gangs control much of the capital.

In a statement following the attack, the office of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime expressed "deep compassion" for the bereaved families and other victims. The government said reinforcements would be sent to restore security in the area.

The attack took place on Sunday night in Kenscoff, a mountainous town in the hills southeast of Port-au-Prince that has faced months of gang violence and incursions by armed groups seeking to expand their control.

Night of terror

The town endured "a night of terror," Mayor Massillon Jean said.

"We have counted around 40 bodies. Searches are continuing. Some people are still missing," Jean told French news agency AFP on Monday.

Among the places targeted was a site housing people who had already fled violence elsewhere.

"The bandits raided a displaced persons camp located in a church," Jean said. "They executed several people. There are fatalities and dozens of wounded. Some people were abducted by the criminals."

Residents were still in shock as they tried to grasp what had happened.

"I don't know how I managed to get away," a man in his sixties who escaped with his family told the press. "When I heard the gunfire, I thought it was the police, but it was the bandits. We climbed over a wall, then ran to hide under some sheets of corrugated iron. There were so many dead."

Residents gather next to the covered bodies of people killed during an overnight raid by an armed gang, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, in Kenscoff, Haiti, 24 August 2026. REUTERS - Patrice Noel

Families torn apart

Sitting with her five children around her and sobbing, Marlène, who lost both her husband and her brother in the attack, described how armed men took her husband away.

"They forced their way into the house, smashed down the door, and took my husband away," she said. "The bandits told him, 'Walk, or we’ll kill you!' But despite that, he fought back, and this morning, all I can do is look at his dead body. He has left me with five children, even though he was the one who provided for us."

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Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, has for years suffered from chronic political instability, natural disasters, corruption and violence from powerful gangs responsible for widespread killings, rapes, looting and kidnappings. Gangs control much of Port-au-Prince.

Nearly 1.5 million Haitians are displaced in a country of about 11 million people, while more than five million face severe food insecurity, UN figures show.

The crisis worsened in early 2024, when gangs launched a wave of violence that forced the unelected prime minister to resign.

Haiti has not held an election since 2016. Its last president, Jovenel Moise, was assassinated in July 2021 and was not replaced.

A general election is scheduled for December 2026.

(with AFP)