Kenscoff, One Year After the Horror of Gangs

PORT-AU-PRINCE, January 14, 2026 – A year ago, the first gang attacks heralded the end of Kenscoff's peaceful era. Perched in the cool mountains, this commune, which served as a refuge for many residents fleeing the capital's violence, has become, in twelve months, an epicenter of chaos. A chilling assessment, drawn up by the citizen movement Mouvman Pou Sove Kenskòf (MSK), reveals the extent of the tragedy: nearly 400 people killed, hundreds of others abducted or displaced, and a social and economic fabric completely torn apart.

According to the (MSK) “Mouvman pou Sove Kenskòf,” the armed groups' offensive has resulted in approximately 400 deaths since its beginning. The Bongard neighborhood, on the front line, reportedly paid the heaviest price with 290 victims. Among them, five police officers, 20 missing persons, and 35 abducted individuals. In Sourcailles, the toll is 51 dead, including members of the security forces: three agents of the Brigade de Sécurité des Aires Protégées (BSAP), three brigadiers, ten police officers, and three soldiers of the Forces Armées d'Haïti (FADH).

These figures are not abstract statistics. They correspond to a bloody and ongoing reality. In February 2025, an FADH soldier and two BSAP agents were killed during a dawn attack. In late December, Inspector Hold Jean Esterlin, responsible for the Fort-Jacques police station, was shot dead in Kenscoff, an assassination that shocked public opinion and mobilized Haitian National Police investigators.

The assailants' objective goes far beyond simple territorial conquest. It is a deliberate strategy to dismantle institutions and instill terror. Schools and businesses are prime targets. In Bongard alone, five schools have been looted and three set on fire, depriving a generation of children of any future.

This offensive is part of a broader logic. In early 2025, the United Nations warned that Kenscoff represented “the last road axis providing access to the metropolis not controlled by gangs.” Its capture was intended to allow criminal groups to completely lock down Port-au-Prince. The UN had then warned against a “point of no return” in the Haitian crisis, a point that now seems to have been reached in this martyred commune.

The humanitarian impact is devastating. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) recorded the flight of over 4,000 people from Kenscoff at the height of the violence. These displaced persons swell the ranks of the million people already forced to leave their homes across the country. On the ground, survivors face an acute economic crisis, exacerbated by the destruction of businesses and the commune's isolation.

Faced with this situation, local authorities are trying to regain control, sometimes controversially. In August 2025, the Kenscoff town hall imposed strict control over all activities of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), requiring prior authorization for any intervention. A measure justified by the need to coordinate aid and protect the population, but which also risks slowing down the delivery of vital humanitarian assistance.