Armed gangs seeking to seize full control of Haiti’s capital have killed at least four soldiers and four armed civilians, according to a senior police official on Thursday. The killings are the latest in a relentless wave of violence that has destabilized the country for months.
Lionel Lazarre, spokesperson for Haiti’s National Police, told Radio Caraïbes that two soldiers and four armed civilians were killed in Kenscoff, a once-peaceful community located in the mountainous outskirts of Port-au-Prince. Two additional soldiers, along with an undetermined number of civilians, were also reported dead in Pacot, a neighborhood within the capital itself.
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The attacks come amid widespread efforts by local communities to defend themselves in the absence of sufficient government control. On Wednesday night, Haitian authorities reported that at least four police officers and armed civilians from Canapé-Vert — one of the few neighborhoods still resisting gang control — were also killed.
Disturbing videos circulated on social media showed gunmen mutilating victims and brandishing severed heads as trophies. In the footage, attackers can be heard chanting, “We got the dogs,” underscoring the extreme brutality of the conflict.
Ergens St. Pierre, a police officer and a leader among the armed civilian defenders of Canapé-Vert, expressed his grief in an interview with the online news outlet Tripotay Lakay late Wednesday. “The people of Canapé-Vert are crying a lot,” he said. “It was a personal initiative that they died for, so that the criminals wouldn’t come and take over their area.”
Both Haiti’s transitional presidential council and the office of Prime Minister Garry Conille condemned the killings in separate statements, noting that several others were wounded during the attacks. “The Government reaffirms that the fight against insecurity remains its top priority,” the prime minister’s office said.
Currently, gangs control at least 85% of Port-au-Prince, according to the United Nations. Areas like Kenscoff and Carrefour, which were previously considered relatively safe, have now come under direct attack. Earlier this year, more than 260 people were killed during assaults on these communities, according to data from the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH).
Efforts to counter the violence include a multinational security mission authorized by the UN and led by Kenyan police forces. However, this mission remains critically underfunded and understaffed, with only around 1,000 personnel deployed so far — far short of the 2,500 initially planned. The UN has repeatedly urged the international community to step up financial and logistical support for the mission.
On Monday, María Isabel Salvador, the top UN official in Haiti, warned the UN Security Council that without urgent reinforcement, Haiti is approaching “a point of no return.” She cautioned that the country could soon descend into “total chaos” if the situation continues unchecked.
Haiti’s humanitarian crisis continues to deepen, with more than 5,600 people killed in 2023 alone due to gang violence. Over one million people have been displaced, many forced into makeshift camps with little access to basic services. In the first two months of this year alone, the UN recorded 1,086 killings and 383 injuries, painting a grim picture of the escalating security and humanitarian disaster.
