Gunmen attacked an armored police vehicle over the weekend in the farming community of Kenscoff near Haiti’s capital, leaving two police officers injured and a driver dead, authorities said Monday.
Police said the assailants threw Molotov cocktails into the vehicle, which then overturned into a ravine. The statement did not identify the driver or give details about the officers’ conditions.
Kenscoff, once considered a peaceful agricultural town, has been repeatedly targeted in recent months by heavily armed gangs, police said. The attack occurred days after a separate assault in a small fishing town north of Port-au-Prince in which local officials say at least 40 people, including women and children, were killed.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres condemned that massacre on Saturday, saying he was “alarmed by the levels of violence rocking Haiti” and urging Haitian authorities “to ensure that perpetrators of these and all other human rights abuses and violations are brought to justice.” He also called on the international community to provide the multinational force with the logistics, personnel and funding it requires.
Haitian police have been battling gangs alongside Kenyan officers who are leading a U.N.-backed security mission that began more than a year ago. The mission was deployed to help restore order after years of political instability and surging gang activity that has left large parts of the country outside government control.
In response to the recent killings and the attack in Kenscoff, Haiti’s government said it coordinated an urgent meeting with high-ranking police officials and ordered the deployment of specialized units to towns including Labodri, Arcahaïe and Cabaret. Authorities did not provide a timeline for the deployments or additional operational details.
The violence has intensified pressure on the international mission and the Haitian government to slow the spread of gang control, secure key population centers and protect civilians. Aid organizations and U.N. officials have repeatedly warned that escalating attacks risk exacerbating already dire humanitarian needs across the country.
Investigations into both the Kenscoff attack and the larger massacre north of Port-au-Prince are ongoing, police said. The government and international partners have said they will pursue those responsible, but concrete results from previous probes into gang-related atrocities have been limited.
The latest incidents underscore the continuing security challenges facing Haiti as authorities and international forces seek to reassert control and stem a recent surge in mass-casualty attacks that have drawn global concern.