Gangs ramp up attacks in Haiti, fueling concerns over security of upcoming elections 

PORT-AU-PRINCE — Renewed gang attacks across Haiti since the beginning of August have reportedly killed and injured dozens of civilians, targeted police and forced residents from their homes. The intensification of violence raises fresh questions about whether the country can create the security conditions needed for its first national elections in a decade. 

Last week, armed groups launched attacks and clashed over territory in Arcahaie, Cité Soleil and Kenscoff in the West Department, while kidnappings increased in parts of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. Violence has also continued in the Artibonite region, with members of the Kokorat Ssan gang attacking a locality in Gros-Morne.

The latest attacks come as Haiti prepares for presidential and legislative elections scheduled for Dec. 13, with local elections and a potential runoff scheduled for Feb. 21, 2027.

The security situation poses a challenge beyond protecting polling stations. For millions of Haitians, displacement, blocked roads, fear of kidnapping and gang control of territory could determine whether they can reach polling places at all. The crisis also threatens to deepen public distrust in an electoral process already weakened by years of political instability and violence, observers said, concerned about the apparent laxity of the transition government.

“We do not see the government or the security forces showing the willingness to combat the violence that is violating the rights of the population,” said Alermy Piervilus, executive secretary of Platform of Haitian Human Rights Organizations (POHDH). 

Speaking at a press conference Aug. 6, Piervilus said the government must mobilize its resources to establish conditions that allow people to move freely and participate in the electoral process.

Clashes in the capital leave hundreds dead

The latest major violence occurred on Aug. 9, when members of the “Taliban” gang from the Canaan area attacked Arcahaie—a municipality about 30 miles north of the Haitian capital—killing at least one truck driver, according to local reports.

The attack followed previous offensives by gangs affiliated with the Viv Ansanm coalition seeking to expand their control in Arcahaie. In September 2025, an attack on Labodrie, a fishing community in the area, killed more than 50 people, according to human rights groups.

Violence also returned to Cité Soleil, where clashes between rival gangs again disrupted daily life and access to essential services.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) suspended activities at the Isaïe Jeanty maternity hospital after treating 27 people with gunshot wounds in less than 24 hours at its other medical facilities in Cité Soleil and Tabarre, according to a statement the organization published Aug. 8.

MSF said it had resumed services only about two weeks earlier after a three-week suspension.

“This is the second time MSF has suspended its activities in less than two months,” the humanitarian organization wrote on Facebook, warning that the latest suspension would leave thousands of women without access to sexual and reproductive health care in an area where such services were already severely limited.

The United Nations has documented the broader toll of the violence.

In its latest report on the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac and Cité Soleil, the U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) said at least 613 people were killed and 375 injured between March 6 and July 31, primarily during gang clashes.

The victims included 111 women and 77 children who were not associated with gangs, according to the report. More than 18,000 people were displaced, while at least 176 women and girls were raped by gang members.

“The particularly heavy human toll of the gang clashes in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area in recent months underscores the urgent need to strengthen the protection of the population,” Carlos Ruiz Massieu, the U.N. secretary-general’s special representative for Haiti and head of BINUH, said.

According to Massieu, the level of gang fighting and human rights violations had not been documented in that part of the capital since January and February 2024.

Kenscoff  under pressure as kidnappings add another layer of insecurity

Kenscoff, a hilly commune southeast of Port-au-Prince, has also remained a major battleground.

On Aug. 7, gangs operating from Village-de-Dieu attacked law enforcement officers in the commune, injuring several police officers and setting fire to a Haitian National Police (PNH) armored vehicle, Alter Presse reported.

Members of the Armed Forces of Haiti (FAd’H) and local security brigades later arrived as reinforcements.

The attack reflects a longer-running struggle for control of Kenscoff. Between January and March 2025, at least 262 people were killed and 66 injured during gang attacks there, according to a U.N. report. Civilians accounted for 53% of the victims, while the remaining 47% were people associated with criminal groups, the report noted.

Still, the commune has continued to experience attacks since then.

As clashes continue, kidnappings have also returned as a major threat in the metropolitan area, particularly in Delmas, Pétion-Ville and Bourdon.

Pierre Espérance, executive director of the National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH), described the situation as “extremely complicated” in an Aug. 4 interview with  Le Nouvelliste.

Espérance also alleged that police officers have been involved in kidnapping networks, citing the dismantling of a gang that included officers assigned to the traffic division and other specialized police units.

“The country’s highest authorities know this,” he said.

The allegations come as government officials and security personnel themselves have become targets.

On Aug. 6, PNH Divisional Inspector Waldeck Valcourt was kidnapped in Delmas 31 while traveling to work.

His abduction came one day before the release of Ecclésiaste Télémaque, chief of staff to the minister of education and vocational training, who had been abducted July 24 in Delmas 31 also.

Another official, James Boyard, chief of staff to the defense minister, was abducted June 11 and remains in captivity, according to the latest reports.

During his June visit to Haiti, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said more than 100 people had been kidnapped since the beginning of 2026 and more than 2,300 people had been killed nationwide during the same period.

Violence spreads beyond the capital amid Security cloud over December vote

The security crisis is not confined to the metropolitan area.

In the Artibonite region, residents reported renewed attacks by members of the Kokorat San Ras gang in Gros-Mornes during the weekend of Aug. 7-8. Residents told The Haitian Times via phone conversations that at least a dozen people were killed.

The commune’s mayor, Hubert Cénéac, confirmed to the newspaper that the massacre occurred in a remote community but said he would provide more information later after gathering additional details.

During its presser, Piervilus said that his organization had documented at least 10 gang-related massacres during the first six months of 2026, particularly in Artibonite, Kenscoff and the Central Plateau. More than 2,000 people were killed in those incidents, the organization said.

“The government’s security response has failed to produce meaningful improvements,” he added. 

The worsening violence comes as Haiti prepares for elections after years without a national vote, with several phases of the process remaining.

More than 1.4 million people remain displaced, many of whom do not know when they will be able to return home. Armed groups continue to control major roads and large parts of the capital, limiting movement and access to basic services.

The Gang Suppression Force (GSF) has announced plans to deploy in areas including Cité Soleil and Artibonite, as Haitian authorities seek to strengthen operations against armed groups.

But the limited results so far have left questions about whether security forces can establish adequate conditions before Dec. 13.

For displaced Haitians, the challenge is especially acute. A voter may be registered in one community but living elsewhere after fleeing violence. Others may face blocked roads, transportation costs, fear of kidnapping or the risk of crossing territory controlled by rival armed groups.

That means election security is not simply a matter of protecting polling stations. It also requires ensuring that voters can safely leave their homes, travel to voting centers and return without being targeted, observers say. 

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