The fighting in Cité Soleil and Croix-des-Bouquets has also wounded 66 people and displaced more than 5,000.
UNITED NATIONS — Gang clashes in two suburbs of Haiti’s capital have killed at least 78 people and wounded 66 since May 9, the United Nations office in Haiti said, as violence pushed more than 5,000 residents from their homes.
The toll marks another sharp rise in violence around Port-au-Prince, where armed groups have tightened control over roads, neighborhoods and public services. The U.N. office in Haiti, known as BINUH, called the figures provisional. Aid groups said the fighting has blocked care, trapped families and forced medical workers to leave parts of the area.
BINUH said the clashes involved several gangs in the communes of Cité Soleil and Croix-des-Bouquets, both in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. “Armed clashes between several gangs in the communes of Cité Soleil and Croix-des-Bouquets have left at least 78 dead and 66 wounded since May 9,” the U.N. office said. The dead included 10 people who were not gang members, the office said: five men, four women and a young girl. The fighting began over the weekend and continued as humanitarian groups tried to count newly displaced families and reach people still inside affected neighborhoods.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the weekend violence displaced about 5,300 people. Local humanitarian groups reported that several families remained trapped in neighborhoods hit by gunfire. A hospital and a Doctors Without Borders facility suspended operations and evacuated staff because of the clashes. Before leaving, Doctors Without Borders said 40 people with gunshot wounds were treated at the hospital in less than 12 hours. The shutdowns added pressure to a health system already weakened by violence, roadblocks and shortages. Officials did not immediately release the names of the gangs involved, and the full number of missing people remained unknown.
Cité Soleil and Croix-des-Bouquets have seen repeated waves of violence this year. The U.N. said earlier outbreaks in March and April displaced nearly 8,000 people in the same two communes. BINUH said that from March 5 to May 11, at least 305 people were killed and 277 were wounded in Cité Soleil and Croix-des-Bouquets. Of those killed, 63 were residents, including 17 women and 13 children. The office said the others killed were gang members. The figures show how armed groups have kept fighting for territory while civilians remain caught in the same streets where they live, shop and seek care.
The latest toll comes as a new multinational anti-gang force begins deploying to Haiti to replace the underfunded Multinational Mission to Support the Haitian Police. So far, only a contingent of 400 Chadian soldiers has arrived in Port-au-Prince. The new force also announced the arrival of its commander, Mongolian Gen. Erdenebat Batsuuri. The mission is expected to support Haitian police as they try to retake areas controlled by gangs and secure key roads and facilities. It was not immediately clear when more personnel would arrive or how soon the force would begin larger operations in the capital.
Haiti’s security crisis has worsened over the past two years, with gangs expanding beyond long-held strongholds in the capital and into nearby communities. In many neighborhoods, residents have left homes with few belongings after gunfire, arson or threats. Schools, markets and clinics have closed at times as armed groups battle each other and police. Humanitarian workers have warned that displacement has strained shelters and host families. The violence has also slowed aid deliveries because some roads cannot be crossed safely. Haitian authorities have struggled to restore order while facing limited police staffing, damaged infrastructure and political uncertainty.
In the affected communes, the immediate work is still basic: confirming deaths, treating the wounded and finding places for displaced families to sleep. Aid workers have described a fast-moving situation, with people leaving one neighborhood only to find nearby areas also unsafe. The U.N. said the casualty count may change as access improves. Local groups continued trying to identify families stuck inside contested zones, while medical teams weighed whether any evacuated facilities could reopen. No formal list of victims had been released, and officials did not announce arrests tied to the latest clashes.
As of May 22, the provisional toll stood at 78 dead, 66 wounded and about 5,300 displaced since May 9. The next major marker is whether the new international force can expand beyond its first arrivals and help Haitian police reach the neighborhoods now cut off by fighting.
Author note: Last updated May 22, 2026.