The United Nations says armed men have killed at least 47 people and kidnapped over 50 others near Haiti’s capital PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- At least 47 people were killed and more than 50 others kidnapped after armed men attacked a once-peaceful community near Haiti’s capital earlier this week, the United Nations said Tuesday. It is believed to be the largest mass kidnapping in Haiti in recent years, and one gang leader is threatening to kill the hostages if authorities kill any gang members as they try to secure the community nestled in the hills above Port-au-Prince. Sunday’s attack on Kenscoff pierced the belief that security in the troubled Caribbean country was improving.
In a video posted on social media, the gang leader threatened Vladimir Paraison, director of Haiti’s National Police, warning that he should refrain from using drones to repel gangs in the area. The gang member only identified himself as Izo 2, a reference to Izo, or Johnson André, one of Haiti’s most powerful gang members. Le Cour said Izo 2 is also known as “Didi” and leads the armed group in Kenscoff on behalf of and in coordination with Izo and other gang leaders.
He said the aim of Sunday’s attack could be to force Haiti’s police and the U.N.-backed gang suppression force to disperse even more of their limited resources. But Sunday’s attack was the largest yet. At least five of the 47 people killed were children, according to the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti, known as BINUH.
Kenscoff Mayor Jean Massillon told The on Tuesday that two government employees were among those killed, including his cousin, who served as his security detail. He said that members of Viv Ansanm, a powerful gang coalition that the United States has designated as a foreign terrorist organization, also set fire to 25 homes. Information about the attack is still trickling out, with Massillon warning that gangs were still roaming Kenscoff’s periphery.
Le Cour said that if police and armored vehicles were indeed stationed in Kenscoff prior to the attack, then the assertion is concerning: “You let the gangs come in even if you had everything in place?” Armed men control an estimated 70% of Port-au-Prince and swaths of land in Haiti’s central region and beyond. Gang violence has displaced a record 1.5 million people across Haiti, where more than 3,100 people were reported killed from January to June and another 1,189 injured, according to U.N. statistics. Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events
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