Haiti gang attack kills around 40 near capital, mayor says

Gang members attacked displaced people sheltering in a church near Haiti's capital and killed around 40 people, Kenscoff Mayor Massillon Jean said Monday.

Jean said searches were continuing after the Sunday night attack in Kenscoff, a town in the hills above Port-au-Prince, and that some people were still missing.

He said assailants targeted several places, including a site housing people who had already fled violence. He said several people were executed, dozens were wounded and some were abducted.

The office of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime expressed compassion for bereaved families and victims and said reinforcements would be sent to restore security in the area.

Kenscoff, southeast of the Haitian capital, has faced months of clashes and incursions by armed groups seeking to expand their control. UN figures cited in the supplied information say nearly 1.5 million Haitians are displaced and more than five million face severe food insecurity.