24 February 2026 , 10:02
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Haitian police killed 16 suspected gang members during an ongoing anti-gang operation this weekend as part of a broader campaign to reclaim gang-controlled areas, including most of the capital and several key routes. Armed groups control as much as 90 percent of Port-au-Prince, according to the United Nations.
The raids took place February 20–21 in the Kenscoff farming community, about 10 kilometers southeast of the capital, Port-au-Prince, according to a police statement.
Clashes began around 4 a.m. with police deploying snipers and two drones. “Sixteen bandits were fatally wounded,” the Haitian National Police said.
Haiti experienced a deadly 2024, with more than 5,600 people killed in gang-related violence. The bloodshed has continued into 2025, with at least 3,100 people murdered in the first half of the year alone.
Gang activity, once mostly confined to the capital’s metropolitan areas, has spread into the countryside. Kenscoff, a formerly safe farming community surrounded by mountains, has become a primary target for the gangs since 2025, forcing thousands of residents to flee.
By December 2025, more than 1.4 million people had been displaced by gang violence, the U.N. estimates. Children accounted for more than 53 percent of those displaced, according to the latest joint report by the U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and the U.N. Human Rights Office (OHCHR).
While police operations have “slowed the territorial expansion of gangs in the capital,” the U.N. said they have not yet regained areas under gang control or “dismantled their criminal governance.”
Children are particularly vulnerable, often forced to run errands, monitor security forces, collect extortion payments, or participate in violent acts, including property destruction, kidnappings, targeted killings, and sexual violence.
“Children in Haiti are being robbed of their childhoods and their futures. The impact and long-term consequences of child trafficking are devastating for the victims and their families, as well as for the stability of the country,” said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
World Affairs Correspondent