More than 50 kidnapped as violent gang attack in Haiti leaves 47 dead

Women cry at the site where their relatives were killed in a gang attack in the Kenscoff neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. Odelyn Joseph/AP hide caption

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — At least 47 people were killed and more than 50 others kidnapped when armed men 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, and one gang leader is threatening to kill the hostages if authorities kill any gang members as they try to secure the community nestled in the hills above Port-au-Prince.

Sunday's attack on Kenscoff pierced the belief that security in the troubled Caribbean country was improving.

"This is a major political and security test, for the government, for the police and for the international mission," said Romain Le Cour, head of the Haiti Observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.

He said the threat of executing hostages is a trap: If forces don't act, they've failed to protect them; if they do and hostages die, the gangs will blame the state.

Kenscoff resident Marc Paul, 42, said gangs kidnapped his brother, stepmother, stepfather and two cousins. He said his 16-year-old niece also was kidnapped and raped but was able to escape and has reunited with him.

"I had to run over bodies," he said as he recalled how he fled the attack. "I can't sleep knowing all these people died."