New Multinational Anti-Gang Force Commander Arrives in Haiti as Clashes in Port-au-Prince Kill at Least 78 Since May 9

Clashes between gangs in the communes of Cité Soleil and Croix-des-Bouquets in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area have left at least 78 dead and 66 wounded since May 9, 2026, the United Nations Office in Haiti (BINUH) said. The fatalities included 10 bystanders — five men, four women and one young girl. BINUH released the provisional toll to AFP on Thursday, May 14, 2026.

Violence since the weekend displaced some 5,300 people, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported. Several families remain trapped in the affected neighborhoods. Residents fled their homes in Cité Soleil after rival gang clashes worsened over the weekend of May 9–11, 2026.

A hospital and a Doctors Without Borders facility were forced to suspend operations and evacuate their staff. Before evacuating, Doctors Without Borders treated 40 gunshot victims at the hospital in less than 12 hours. The outbreaks overwhelmed medical services in the Haitian capital's suburbs.

Between March 5 and May 11, 2026 at least 305 people were killed and 277 wounded in Cité Soleil and Croix-des-Bouquets, BINUH said. Of the 305 fatalities, 63 were residents including 17 women and 13 children; the remainder were gang members. Outbreaks of violence in the same two communes in March and April 2026 displaced nearly 8,000 people, according to the UN.

A new multinational anti-gang force is being deployed to Haiti to replace the Multinational Mission to Support the Haitian Police. Only a contingent of 400 Chadian soldiers has arrived in Port-au-Prince so far. The new multinational force announced the arrival of its commander, Mongolian General Erdenebat Batsuuri, on Thursday, May 14, 2026.

A US Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III aircraft landed in Port-au-Prince on May 11, 2026. Haiti is the poorest country in the Caribbean. The country has been ravaged by gang violence that has steadily deteriorated over the past two years.