Grief and fear filled the air in Cité Soleil, Port-au-Prince, on Saturday as hundreds of Haitians gathered for a collective funeral honoring eight victims killed in a drone strike last month. The community, already devastated by years of gang violence, was once again mourning lives lost in one of the city’s most volatile slums.
The September 20 drone attack struck deep inside Cité Soleil — a territory controlled by Viv Ansanm, a powerful gang coalition designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States. According to Doctors Without Borders, nine people were killed and at least 17 others wounded when explosive drones targeted an area allegedly linked to a gang leader.
Residents and activists have accused Haitian police of orchestrating the attack, which killed four children among the victims.
At the funeral, grief quickly turned to panic when a bird flew overhead, with mourners mistaking it for another drone. Many fled in terror — a stark reminder of the psychological toll the violence has taken.
“I didn’t have the strength to look at my daughter’s coffin,” said Claudia Bobrun, whose 8-year-old daughter Samira Nelson was killed while playing outside.
Another mourner, Jislene Statune, lost her two grandchildren and her eldest daughter — the family’s breadwinner — in the explosion.
“She was only 32. She sold clothes to take care of us. She died right in front of our home,” Statune said.
Growing Global Concern
The attack comes as the United Nations Security Council voted Tuesday to authorize a 5,550-member international “Gang Suppression Force”, expanding the powers of a Kenya-led multinational mission already deployed in Haiti. The force will now be allowed to arrest suspected gang members, a power it previously lacked.
Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, gangs have seized control of roughly 90% of Port-au-Prince, spreading chaos through killings, kidnappings, and sexual violence. The country remains without a president, and over 1.3 million Haitians have been displaced by gang warfare.
The funeral in Cité Soleil was not only a moment of mourning — it was a painful symbol of a nation trapped between lawlessness and loss, still searching for peace amid unrelenting violence.
