Desperate Pleas for Kidnapped Family Members Amid Kenscoff Massacre

Families in Kenscoff, a town near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, are urging authorities to intervene for the release of relatives taken hostage during a bloody gang attack last weekend. The assault left at least 47 individuals dead, more than 20 people abducted, and forced thousands of residents to flee their homes in search of safety.

Following the Sunday-night assault, a video emerged in which the local gang leader, identified as Izo 2, threatened to execute the held captives if security forces attempted a rescue operation. Amidst this violent threat, many residents have expressed deep anxiety, fearing that their relatives may have already been killed.

A traumatized 19-year-old survivor shared his grim experience with RFI, describing how he was among the few who managed to escape his home while his entire family was captured. “In my family, I am the only one who was lucky enough to be saved,” he recounted. “My mother, my sisters, my brothers, are all in the hands of the bandits. There were nine of us in the house when the attack happened.” The survivor also lost all his vital documents and academic records, which were consumed by the fires of the raid. “My birth certificate, my official exam records, everything was reduced to ashes,” he said, appealing to the government to secure his family’s release and offer assistance to continue his education.

The town of Kenscoff, long regarded as a peaceful refuge in the mountains, has been subjected to more than a dozen violent gang attacks over the past year, displacing over 2,600 individuals. Survivors have called upon the Haitian authorities to establish a permanent and effective security response to the escalating crisis.

According to data from the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti, the country has witnessed more than 3,000 deaths in the first half of the year alone. Regrettably, a significant portion of these fatalities—including at least 229 civilians—resulted from state-led security operations, such as stray bullets or drone strikes in residential areas. Furthermore, at least 18 children have lost their lives during these operations, yet official investigations into their deaths have not been publicly initiated.

The Kenya-led international force, deployed in 2022 to support Haitian police, has struggled to re-establish order and has since transitioned into a broader Gang Suppression Force under UN mandate. As the nation prepares for its first elections in a decade this December, the heavy burden of violence continues to shape the daily lives of Haitians.

With reporting by Peterson Luxama in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

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