A convoy carrying Haiti’s prime minister, Garry Conille, came under attack on Monday in Port-au-Prince as he prepared to leave the State University Hospital after a surprise visit. Witnesses told reporters that journalists and Kenyan police were trapped for several minutes inside the main public hospital in the capital due to the assault by the gang coalition known as Vivre Ensemble (Living Together). Violent clashes ensued between Haitian and Kenyan security forces and members of the armed groups, underscoring the volatile security situation in the area.
The assault by these violent factions, who continue to exert control over central Port-au-Prince, heightened tensions in the city for another day. Kenya’s police forces began deploying to Haiti at the end of June as part of an international security support mission led by that African nation. The United Nations Security Council authorized in October 2023 the deployment of a policing-support mission to assist the Haitian National Police in addressing the violence waged by armed gangs, following a request from Haitian authorities a year earlier.
Last year alone, Haiti recorded approximately 8,000 violent deaths linked to gang activity, with gangs at one point controlling as much as 80 percent of Port-au-Prince and other parts of the country, according to United Nations figures. The ongoing violence has repeatedly strained the capital’s security and left civilians navigating a precarious daily reality amid a fragmented emergency response system.