On Aug. 24, members of the large Viv Ansanm gang entered the pastoral community of Kenscoff located in the hills above Port-au-Prince and massacred 47 people, injured 22 and kidnapped 50. In this horrific act, gang members burned down houses, forcing inhabitants to flee and join the 1.5 million other Haitians who have been displaced from their homes. The police response was poor, and now there are calls for acting police Director General Vladimir Paraison to resign. Gang leader “Izo2” posted a message on social media warning Paraison that if any captured gang members are killed, the kidnap victims will be killed also.
The attack on Kenscoff was not isolated: Violence, kidnappings and murders are surging in other parts of the country, as in the Artibonite, the rich agricultural region, where gangs are seeking to expand their territorial control, or in Port-au-Prince’s huge Cité Soleil slum. The surge in kidnappings is especially notable.
