Gangs Kill at Least 50 people in Haiti

Armed gangs have killed at least 50 people in an attack on the town of Kenscough, 10 km from Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.

TRT World reported on this.

According to civil society organizations, during a large-scale operation to seize control of the territory, 100 houses were burned down, at least 50 people were killed and dozens were injured.

At the same time, Haitian National Police spokesman Michel-Ange Louis Jeune said that security forces killed 20 gang members during the operation and assured that measures were being taken to restore order.

Kenscoff is strategically important as a link between the western and southeastern regions of the country. A road passes through this mountainous town, which allows you to avoid the gang-controlled National Road 2.

Gang warfare in Haiti

Haiti, a country of more than 11 million people, has been struggling with political, economic and security crises for years.

Following the outbreak of a large-scale gang war in 2020, armed gangs seized control of approximately 80% of the capital city. At the same time, the level of violence continues to rise. In 2024 alone, more than 5,000 people were killed in gang attacks.

A striking example of gang violence was the massacre of civilians in December 2024. At least 180 people, mostly elderly, were brutally murdered by gang members in the Haitian capital.

According to the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH), the local gang leader targeted them after his son fell ill and subsequently died. The gang leader reportedly consulted a voodoo priest, who blamed the boy’s mysterious illness on elderly locals practicing “witchcraft.”

Until 2024, the war raged between the two main groups and their allies: The Revolutionary Forces of the Family and Allies of the G9 (FRG9 or G9) and G-Pep. However, in February 2024, these two warring factions formed a coalition that opposed the government and the UN peacekeeping mission sent to the country to help resolve the crisis.

The instability in the country has led to a deep economic crisis, the threat of famine, and, as a result, frequent leadership changes. In 2024 alone, the country’s transitional government changed the prime minister three times.

In November 2024, peacekeepers from Finland were fired upon with small arms while on patrol in South Lebanon.