Haiti gangs kill 47 in Kenscoff as influence battle rages
At least 47 people were killed and several others kidnapped in a night attack by the Viv Ansanm gang coalition in the Kenscoff commune on Haiti’s capital outskirts on 23 August.
Source: ACLED · August 26, 2026 at 12:30 AM · AI-assisted report
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HAITI, 26 AUGUST 2026 —
At least 47 people were killed and several others kidnapped in a night attack by the Viv Ansanm gang coalition in the Kenscoff commune on Haiti’s capital outskirts on 23 August.
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The offensive is the latest in Viv Ansanm’s push to seize control of Kenscoff since early 2025, according to María Fernanda Arocha, Mexico, Central America and Caribbean analyst at ACLED. A July incursion by the same coalition killed at least 61 people.
Kenscoff sits in the mountains overlooking Pétion-Ville, a wealthy Port-au-Prince suburb, and links the capital to southern Haiti. ACLED says gangs use large-scale civilian killings to break local resistance and secure territory.
Security operations reduced Kenscoff violence by 66% between January and August 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier, ACLED data show. Yet Viv Ansanm persists because police struggle to hold rural and remote areas. Rural communes such as Gressier have also seen fresh attacks in recent months.
ACLED reports that gangs exploit weak police presence in outlying zones to expand influence, even as forces focus on central Port-au-Prince. The pattern mirrors insecurity in Artibonite department.
Arocha says Haiti’s planned 5,500-strong UN-backed Gang Suppression Force has deployed only about 1,000 officers so far. Full deployment and broader territorial control are needed to meet minimum security conditions ahead of December 2026 elections, she adds.
Related: Haiti