An overnight gang raid at a displaced persons camp in a church on Sunday, at the hillside community of Kenscoff, overlooking Port-au-Prince, in Haiti, has led to the killing of at least 47 people, with 22 others injured.
While the United Nations Integrated Office in the country expects the figure to rise, a human rights group in Haiti, RNDDH, stated that although assessing a complete tally is difficult, an estimated 30 to 40 people were killed.
At the same time, 15 to 20 were injured during the raid that began at 10:30 p.m. local time.
Kenscoff mayor Massillon Jean told the AFP on Monday that the suspected criminals kidnapped some of the victims.
Mr Jean said, “The bandits raided a displaced persons camp located in a church. They executed several people. There are fatalities and dozens of wounded. Some people were abducted by the criminals.”
The office of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, in a statement on social media on Monday, condemned the “heinous attack” but assured that security forces are on high alert and reinforcements are being deployed.
“Kenscoff will not be abandoned. The government’s authority will be restored, without weakness and without delay,” he assured residents. “Haiti will not be handed over to bandits. The republic will prevail.”
The latest attack happened just days after the United States government deported over 160 people to the country for the first time since the President Donald Trump administration won a legal battle to end temporary protected status for 350,000 Haitians.
The Kenscoff community, which has faced dozens of similar attacks since 2025 that have forced thousands to flee their homes, is now demanding the resignation of the local police chief for failing to protect the residents living just minutes from the police station.
Armed gangs control an estimated 70 per cent of Port-au-Prince. UN statistics showed that gang violence has displaced a record 1.5 million people in the country, where over 3,100 people were reported killed from January to June, with 1,189 injured.