Haitian Gang Coalition Torches Homes, Kills Residents in Hillside Community

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A powerful gang coalition launched a deadly assault on a farming community in the hills above Haiti's capital, killing multiple people and setting homes ablaze, according to local officials.

Kenscoff Mayor Jean Massillon said armed men stormed the community late Sunday, torching residences and shooting residents. He described the scene as one of chaos, with survivors discovering the bodies of friends and family in the streets on Monday morning.

"It is still impossible to establish a definitive death toll due to access difficulties and communication problems," Massillon said, adding that the attackers specifically targeted a church and properties owned by Dr. Jean "Bill" Pape, a prominent physician who runs a non-governmental organization in Haiti treating patients with HIV and tuberculosis.

Massillon blamed the assault on members of Viv Ansanm, a gang coalition designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government last year. The group has repeatedly targeted Kenscoff, which sits near Port-au-Prince, where gangs now control an estimated 70% of the capital.

The attack comes amid a deepening humanitarian crisis. Gang violence has displaced a record 1.5 million people across Haiti, with more than 3,100 people killed between January and June, according to U.N. statistics.

The incident also follows the recent deportation of over 160 Haitians from the U.S., the first such flight since the Trump administration won a legal battle to end Temporary Protected Status for some 350,000 Haitians.

Haiti is scheduled to hold general elections on Dec. 13 — its first in over a decade — and voter registration is underway in Port-au-Prince and beyond. However, experts have warned that the current security situation makes holding elections dangerously unfeasible.

A spokesperson for the U.N.-backed gang suppression force did not immediately respond to requests for comment.