PORT-AU-PRINCE, Aug 24 (Reuters) – At least 30 people were killed in a gang raid in the neighborhood of Kenscoff near Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince, Kenscoff’s mayor Jean Massillon told Reuters on Monday.
Kenscoff is a hillside town overlooking Port-au-Prince has seen frequent gang attacks over the last couple of years. Rights groups have reported mass killings, rapes, arson and kidnappings, forcing thousands to flee their homes.
Haitian rights group RNDDH estimated 30 to 40 people had been killed and 15 to 20 wounded in the overnight raid, which began around 10:30 p.m. local time (0230 GMT), but warned it was still difficult to assess a complete tally.
Haiti’s prime minister’s office on Monday afternoon decried the “heinous attack”, noting all security forces were on high alert and reinforcements were being deployed.
“Kenscoff will not be abandoned,” it said in a statement. “The government’s authority will be restored, without weakness and without delay, throughout all of Kenscoff.”
Haiti’s national police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The community occupies a strategic position overlooking routes into Petion-Ville – home to several embassies, upscale hotels and the temporary seat of government – as well as routes from the capital into southern parts of the country.
Local media said several houses were set on fire, including the home of Jean William Pape, a leading public health expert in Haiti.
The attack occurred as the U.N.-backed Gang Suppression Force, which is mandated to help police fight gangs and replace an underfunded and ineffectual predecessor, plans to reach a full capacity of more than 5,500 troops by fall this year.
(Reporting by Harold Isaac, Writing by Daina Beth Solomon and Sarah Morland, Editing by Iñigo Alexander and Natalia Siniawski)
