A powerful gang coalition launched a deadly attack on a once-peaceful farming community in the hills above Haiti’s capital, killing several people and setting homes ablaze, an official said Monday.
Kenscoff Mayor Jean Massillon said armed gang members stormed the community late Sunday. He said authorities were unable to determine the exact death toll because difficult terrain and communication disruptions were hampering access to the area.
The attack left residents mourning as bodies of victims were found scattered along roads early Monday.
“They killed my son!” a grieving woman cried repeatedly as others tried to console her.
Residents described scenes of devastation, with people recovering bodies from the streets, some covered with bloodstained sheets.
Robert Jean said he heard gunfire before dawn and rushed to wake residents and help them flee. He said he was desperately searching for his brother, only to discover that he had been killed.
Another resident, Verti Enold-Saint, blamed the government for failing to provide adequate security, saying the presence of an armored police vehicle could have prevented the attack.
Farmer Mathurin Pierre, 41, said 14 members of his family and close circle were killed, while an unknown number of others remained missing.
Mayor Massillon blamed members of Viv Ansanm, a powerful gang coalition designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization last year.
He said the attackers targeted a church and several homes, including properties belonging to renowned Haitian physician Dr Jean “Bill” Pape, whose nonprofit organization provides medical assistance to people suffering from diseases including HIV and tuberculosis.
Haiti’s Office of Citizen Protection condemned the violence, saying dozens of people, including many young Haitians, had been killed.
National Police Director Vladimir Paraison visited Kenscoff and defended the police response amid questions from journalists.
“The police never lowered their arms,” he said, pointing to the number of officers deployed in the area.
Jean Fritz Patterson Dorval, head of the Port-au-Prince prosecutor’s office, also faced questions over the security situation. He said eight armored vehicles were deployed in Kenscoff but noted that some operational questions could only be answered by the mayor and police.
No further details were immediately available, and a spokesperson for the UN-backed gang-suppression mission did not respond to a request for comment.
The Haitian government condemned the incident as a “heinous criminal attack” and said additional security forces were being deployed to the area.
“Kenscoff will not be abandoned,” the government said, adding that security forces had been instructed to pursue those responsible and urging residents to remain confident.
Gangs currently control an estimated 70 percent of Port-au-Prince and have repeatedly carried out attacks in nearby Kenscoff.
According to UN figures, gang violence has displaced a record 1.5 million people across Haiti. More than 3,100 people were killed and another 1,189 injured between January and June.
The latest attack came less than a week after the United States deported more than 160 people to Haiti, marking the first such deportations since the Trump administration secured a legal ruling allowing it to end Temporary Protected Status for about 350,000 Haitians.
Haiti’s government said some of those deported had held TPS status. The US Department of Homeland Security told AP that those deported Friday included several gang members with criminal records involving offenses ranging from assault to drug trafficking.
Haiti is scheduled to hold general elections on December 13, its first nationwide polls in more than a decade. Voter registration is underway in Port-au-Prince and other areas, although security experts have warned that the continuing violence could make holding elections extremely difficult.