Gang massacre in Kenscoff, Haiti kills at least 47 as UN reports violence spreading

On the night of August 23-24, 2026, armed men attacked the farming community of Kenscoff in the hills above Port-au-Prince, Haiti, setting homes ablaze and killing at least 47 people and wounding 22 others. The attack is one of the deadliest recent incidents in the area, which has faced a dozen gang attacks since last year. The massacre coincided with the release of a UN report (BINUH) covering April-June 2026, which documented 1,408 killings and 656 injuries, a 14% decrease from the previous quarter but with violence spreading geographically. Gangs are expanding into new areas like Artibonite and Séguin, while clashes in Plaine du Cul-de-Sac and Cité Soleil killed 463 people and displaced over 18,000. The report also highlights 796 gang-related rape victims, 81 kidnappings, and over 800 casualties from security operations, including 95 civilians. The UN warns that gangs are adapting to pressure and that security operations themselves are causing civilian harm.