play Live Sign upShow navigation menuplay Live Click here to searchsearchSign upNewsViolence flares in Haiti as gang attack kills 30 peopleIsland nation grapples with violence as it seeks to hold first elections in more than a decade.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoGangs control 70 percent of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince [File: Odelyn Joseph/AP]By Al Jazeera Staff, AP and ReutersPublished On 24 Aug 202624 Aug 2026At least 30 people have been killed as a new wave of violence grips Haiti.
A powerful gang coalition mounted the deadly attack on a farming community in Kenscoff, south of the capital, Port-au-Prince, late on Sunday, officials reported. The flare-up in violence comes as Haiti hopes to hold its first general election in more than a decade.
Jean Massillon, Kenscoff’s mayor, said armed men “sowed chaos” as they set homes on fire and killed residents.
He said gang members targeted a church and homes, including that of Jean William Pape, a leading public health expert.
Massillon blamed the attack on members of Viv Ansanm, a group that was designated as a “foreign terrorist organisation” by the United States government last year.
Gangs control an estimated 70 percent of Port-au-Prince. Viv Ansanm has repeatedly targeted Kenscoff, which occupies a strategic position overlooking routes into Petion-Ville, where several embassies, upscale hotels and the temporary seat of government are located.
A United Nations-backed gang suppression force is mandated to help police fight the gangs and restore order, but it has not yet reached its full capacity of 5,500 members.
According to the UN, gang violence has displaced 1.5 million people across Haiti. The violence has persisted despite efforts to rein it in. More than 3,100 people were reported killed and 1,189 injured from January to June as gangs continued a reign of terror in Port-au-Prince that sparked international concern last year.
Haiti’s prime minister’s office on Monday condemned the “heinous attack” and sought to reassure Haitians that security forces were on high alert and reinforcements were being deployed.
“Kenscoff will not be abandoned,” a statement read. “The government’s authority will be restored, without weakness and without delay.”
Haitians have been registering to vote in elections planned in January, but experts have warned it’s currently too dangerous to hold the vote.
