Authorities in Haiti confirmed recently that heavily armed gangs attacked an armored police vehicle near the capital, killing the driver and injuring two officers, in the latest wave of escalating violence.
The assault occurred over the weekend in Kenscoff, a rural community once known for farming but now repeatedly targeted by gangs. Police reported that attackers hurled Molotov cocktails at the vehicle, forcing it off the road and into a ravine.
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The ambush comes as Haitian and Kenyan security forces continue joint operations under a U.N.-backed mission launched more than a year ago to curb the country’s spiraling gang crisis.
It follows a massacre just days earlier in the northern town of Labodrie, where gangs killed at least 40 people, including women and children, and set parts of the fishing village ablaze. That attack drew condemnation from U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, who said he was “alarmed by the levels of violence rocking Haiti” and urged Haitian authorities to bring perpetrators to justice. He also appealed to the international community to strengthen the multinational force with greater funding, logistics, and personnel.
In response, Haiti’s government announced Monday that it convened an emergency meeting with senior police officials and has ordered specialized units into several towns, including Labodrie, Arcahaïe, and Cabaret. Officials said the Cabaret attack alone displaced nearly 2,900 people, with 70 percent fleeing to Arcahaïe. The U.N.’s International Organization for Migration reported that over 40 percent of those displaced are now sheltering in four local schools.
Overall, more than 1.3 million Haitians have been displaced in recent years.
