People lift the body of a victim in the Kenscoff area of Haiti on Monday. At least 47 people, including children, were killed in an overnight gang attack. Photo by Jonet St. Elois/EPA
Aug. 26 (UPI) — A Haitian gang threatened Wednesday to kill more than 50 people abducted during an attack on the Kenscoff community if security forces continue their offensive after at least 47 people, including five children, were killed, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti said.
A gang leader known as Izo 2 posted a video on social media that showed nearly 20 hostages, including three children. The man said he was holding more people captive and directed his threat at Vladimir Paraison, acting director of the Haitian National Police.
“If one of my men or a soldier dies, these people will be killed,” the criminal leader said, according to the Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelliste.
Izo 2, also known as Didi, leads the armed group operating in Kenscoff in coordination with Johnson André, alias Izo, one of the most powerful leaders of the Viv Ansanm criminal coalition.
The attack began on the night of Aug. 23, when armed men stormed central Kenscoff and several surrounding communities. The attackers killed residents, abducted more than 50 people and set homes and vehicles on fire.
Twenty-two of those killed were reportedly executed inside a religious compound in which they had sought shelter, according to the United Nations.
“The relentless gang attacks against communities and the loss of life underscore the alarming security conditions in Haiti,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in an official statement.
The Haitian National Police deployed specialized units and opened an investigation to determine how the attackers entered central Kenscoff despite the presence of security forces. Paraison ordered investigators to determine whether there had been acts of complicity or negligence.
Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé said the government would continue its operations against gangs despite the threats.
“Kenscoff will not be abandoned,” he said. “Government authority will be restored, without weakness and without delay.”
Kenscoff occupies a strategic position in the mountains above Port-au-Prince. Controlling the area would allow gangs to encircle Pétion-Ville and dominate alternative routes connecting the capital with southern Haiti, said María Fernanda Arocha, a researcher with the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project, or ACLED.
Security operations reduced violence in Kenscoff by 66% between January and August compared with the same period in 2025, according to ACLED.
However, the organization warned that gangs take advantage of the limited police presence in rural communities while authorities concentrate their resources in central Port-au-Prince.
The attack also highlights the difficulties of ensuring secure conditions before the general elections scheduled for Dec. 13, Haiti’s first in more than a decade.
Between April and June, at least 1,408 people were killed, 656 were injured, 796 were raped and 81 were abducted, according to the United Nations’ quarterly report.
The U.N., said the actual number of abductions is probably higher because many families negotiate directly with gangs and do not report them.