Haitian gangs kill 47 and kidnap over 50 in mountain town of Kenscoff

The assault on Kenscoff

Armed gangs launched an assault on the mountain community of Kenscoff near Port-au-Prince on Sunday night, leaving at least 47 people dead and more than 50 kidnapped according to the United Nations. Gunmen riding motorbikes entered the town around 9:30 p.m., pushing into downtown areas near the local police station. Attackers raided a church compound serving as a temporary shelter for displaced people, executing 22 individuals who had sought refuge there. United Nations spokesman Stéphane Dujarric and the UN Integrated Office in Haiti confirmed that at least five children were among the dead. Kenscoff Mayor Jean Massillon reported that 25 homes were burned, a school was damaged, and at least 15 people remained missing alongside 10 wounded by gunfire. Two municipal workers, including a cousin of the mayor, were among those killed during the overnight assault.

Resident accounts and local devastation

Surviving residents recounted fleeing through gunfire as armed men broke into private homes across the town. One resident in his sixties described climbing a perimeter wall with his family after mistaking the early shooting for police operations, later hiding beneath corrugated iron sheets. Another resident reported that attackers abducted his brother, stepmother, stepfather, and two cousins, while his 16-year-old niece escaped after being kidnapped and assaulted. In another home, gunmen forced entry and executed a local provider when he refused orders to march with them.

He has left me with five children, even though he was the one who provided for us.

Hostage threats and security dilemma

Following the raid, an armed faction commander identifying himself as Izo 2 published a video threatening the lives of more than 50 abducted hostages. The commander, also known as Didi, operates an armed cell coordinated with Johnson André, one of Haiti's prominent gang leaders known as Izo. The video directly addressed Vladimir Paraison, the director of the Haitian National Police, ordering him to halt drone surveillance and avoid targeting gang fighters in the hills.

Paraison, if any of our soldiers are hurt, I will kill all of them.

Romain Le Cour, head of the Haiti Observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, noted that the hostage threat places authorities in a tactical bind. He explained that any active police intervention that results in hostage deaths will be blamed on the state, while inaction will be viewed as a failure to protect citizens.

Strategic geography and election timetable

Kenscoff is situated approximately 10 kilometers south of Port-au-Prince at an elevation of 2,000 meters, historically known as a cooler mountain retreat for middle-class and wealthy residents. The area controls critical mountain routes and borders Pétion-Ville, an affluent suburb containing government institutions, commercial banks, and foreign diplomatic missions. Gangs first launched an armed offensive against Kenscoff in January 2025, followed by sporadic clashes in surrounding hills before Sunday's direct push into the center. During the incursion, armed assailants also targeted the private residence of Dr. Jean William Pape, the director of the Gheskio health clinic in Port-au-Prince.

The escalation occurs as Haiti prepares for national general elections scheduled for 13 December, which would mark the country's first nationwide vote in over a decade. The office of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé announced that state reinforcements would deploy to restore control in Kenscoff. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the killings and urged Haitian authorities to prosecute those responsible through specialized judicial units established with international support. Le Cour observed that forcing police and the UN-backed gang suppression force to redeploy scarce personnel to Kenscoff dilutes security coverage across the rest of the capital.