A wave of gang violence sweeping across Haiti has displaced nearly 1.5 million people and killed more than 3,050 in the first half of this year alone, as armed criminal coalitions expand their reach far beyond the capital into regions that were once considered safe havens.

The UN Human Rights Office reported 1,480 people killed in gang-related violence between April and June, and this week condemned a particularly brutal attack on Kenscoff, a farming community in the hills near Port-au-Prince, where some 150 heavily armed gang members stormed the area, killing 47 people and kidnapping more than 50. Among the dead were 22 residents who had sought refuge inside a Protestant church, only to be dragged into the courtyard and executed, with 12 more killed behind the building. UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Marta Hurtado called on Haitian authorities to ensure civilian safety and urged UN member states to provide greater support to the Gang Suppression Force, the UN-backed multinational security mission deployed to dismantle armed groups. Armed men now control an estimated 70 percent of Port-au-Prince and large swathes of Haiti's interior.

The violence has reached areas that long escaped it. Haiti's Centre Department — a landlocked, largely agricultural region bordering the Dominican Republic, historically known for its peaceful character and religious festivals — came under sustained gang attack between late March and early April 2025. Criminal groups belonging to Viv Ansanm (