Tuesday 25 / August / 2026
At least 40 people were killed after gang members attacked displaced persons sheltering inside a church outside Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince, the local mayor and the United Nations said Monday.
"We have counted around 40 bodies. Searches are continuing. Some people are still missing," Kenscoff mayor Massillon Jean told the AFP news agency.
Several of those killed on Sunday night had already fled violence earlier this year, 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," Jean said.
What do we know about the attack near Haiti's capital city?
The UN said the attack had left at least 47 people dead and more than 22 injured and warned that casualty estimates could still change.
Rights group RNDDH said between 30 and 40 people were killed and 15 to 20 were injured during the attack, which started at around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday.
In a statement, the office of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé condemned the "heinous attack," adding that security forces were on the highest alert and reinforcements were being deployed.
Residents have called for the local police chief to resign amid allegations that police failed to protect people sheltering in the church, which is just minutes away from the police station.
Kenscoff lies in the hills outside the Haitian capital and has been plagued by gang violence for months.
Early last year, gang attacks resulted in more than 260 people being killed and 200 homes destroyed or set ablaze, displacing 3,000 people, according to the UN. At least 10 more attacks have taken place since.
