PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — At least 47 people were killed and more than 50 kidnapped when gunmen attacked a once peaceful community near Haiti’s capital earlier this week, the United Nations said Tuesday. It is believed to be one of the largest mass kidnappings in Haiti in recent years, with a gang leader threatening to kill the hostages if authorities kill any gang members while trying to secure the hillside community. Port-au-Prince. Sunday’s attack on Kenscoff shattered belief that security in the troubled Caribbean country was improving. “This is an important political and security test, for the government, the police and the international mission,” said Romain Le Cour, head of the Haiti Observatory of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. He said the threat to execute hostages is a trap: if the forces do not act, they have failed to protect them; If they do and the hostages die, the gangs will blame the state. Marc Paul, 42, of Kenscoff, said the gangs kidnapped his brother, stepmother, stepfather and two cousins. He said his 16-year-old niece was also kidnapped and raped, but she was able to escape and was reunited with him. “I had to run over dead bodies,” he said, remembering how he fled the attack. “I can’t sleep knowing that all these people died.” Paul and his family had already lost their home in a previous gang attack in January 2025, but he said it was not as violent as Sunday’s attack. Paul was upset about the video the gangs posted: “My brother is probably going to die.” A threat posted on social media In a video posted on social media, the gang leader threatened Vladimir Paraison, director of the Haitian National Police. “Paraison, if any of our soldiers are hurt, I will kill them all,” he said, referring to the hostages. The gang member identified himself as Izo 2, a reference to Izo, or Johnson André, one of Haiti’s most powerful gang leaders. 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. Kenson Paul, Marc Paul’s 17-year-old nephew, said he managed to escape the attackers. “They haven’t called us to tell us what they want,” he said of the gang. “I’m worried about my family’s life.” Subscribe to Morning Wire: Our flagship newsletter breaks down the day’s biggest headlines. Le Cour said the goal of Sunday’s attack could be to force Haiti’s police and U.N.-backed gang suppression force to spread even more of their limited resources. “They don’t have enough staff,” Le Cour said in a telephone interview. “If they are forced to deploy more troops, it would inevitably be at the expense of other areas.” The attack could also simply be a show of force and a message to Haiti’s government and police as the country prepares to hold general elections on December 13 for the first time in more than a decade. “This is a message to the government and the police that their claims for protection do not match reality,” Le Cour said. “The gangs say: when we decide to attack, we can do it and we will do it.” Attacks on Kenscoff have increased The first major attack on Kenscoff occurred in January 2025 and since then there have been sporadic attacks in the mountains surrounding the city center. 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. UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attack on Tuesday, noting that 22 of the victims were executed in a church compound where they had sought refuge: “The gangs’ relentless attacks on communities and the loss of life underline the alarming security conditions in Haiti,” he said. Kenscoff Mayor Jean Massillon told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the gangs set fire to 25 homes and killed two government employees, including his cousin, who served as their security detail. “The atrocity of this crime reminds us that we have to continue working harder every day to bring peace to the community,” Massillon said. “I am optimistic that the State will continue to work to eradicate gangs in Kenscoff.” Gangs covet Kenscoff because it allows them to surround and control the upscale community of Pétion-Ville and alternative routes connecting Haiti’s capital to its southern region, said María Fernanda Arocha, a researcher at the nonprofit Armed Conflict Location & Event Data. Between January and August this year, security operations had managed to reduce violence in Kenscoff by 66% before the attack, he said in a statement. “While security forces have concentrated their efforts on operations aimed at regaining control in the central areas of Port-au-Prince, criminal groups have instead sought to expand into rural communities that are vulnerable due to the limited response capacity of the police, but which remain strategic centers,” he added. Haitians demand police protection Some survivors accused the government of not providing enough protection before the attack, and the Haitian National Police rejected those accusations. Le Cour said that if police and armored vehicles were stationed in Kenscoff before the attack, then the claim is worrying: “Did they let the gangs in even if they had everything in place?” Haiti’s National Police issued a statement Tuesday saying Paraison ordered an investigation to establish the truth about the attack “whether for complicity or negligence.” He also ordered additional specialized units to the area, saying: “It is an obligation to protect the civilian population.” Gunmen control about 70% of Port-au-Prince and swaths of land in central Haiti and beyond. Gang violence has displaced a record 1.5 million people across Haiti, where more than 3,050 people were reported killed from January to June, according to U.N. statistics released Tuesday. The UN noted that almost 800 rapes were reported from April to June, with 87% of those cases representing gang rapes. At least 81 people were also reported kidnapped during that period, according to a new UN report. “These figures represent only a part of the total number of people kidnapped,” he said. “In many cases, victims’ families do not report kidnappings to police or service providers and choose to negotiate directly with the kidnappers, believing that this approach allows for a quicker release and avoids potential retaliation.” The number of kidnappings reported from April to June represents an increase of more than 40% compared to the previous quarter.___Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.___Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
