Foreign press attacked in Haiti while covering funeral for massacre victims

Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald on Sep 2, 2026

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Three Haiti-based photographers working for international news organizations were attacked Wednesday in the hills above Port-au-Prince, where armed gangs carried out a massacre just over a week ago.

The journalists were assaulted by members of the community while covering a funeral for five individuals who were killed in the attack on Kenscoff, where gunmen shot dozens of residents, set homes ablaze and abducted over 50 people, including women and babies.

The injured journalists were Odelyn Joseph for The Associated Press, Clarens Siffroy, who works for Agence France-Presse, and Jonet St. Elois, who works with Agencia EFE.

Joseph was the most seriously injured. He was struck repeatedly in the head before collapsing to his knees, journalists at the scene said. A video showed fellow journalists struggling to carry an unconscious Joseph away from the crowd.

The motive of the assault was not immediately clear. But it was the second tine in days that member of the news media have been assaulted by Kenscoff residents while covering funerals for victims of the massacre.

Hazardous place for journalists

Haiti has become an increasingly hazardous environment for journalists, who have been kidnapped and killed, caught in the crossfire of gang attacks and had their vehicles fired on by police. The assaults in Kenscoff underscore another threat against journalists: hostility from members of the population while trying to do their job.

The latest incident against the journalists comes amid mounting questions over the Kenscoff massacre, including how gunmen were able to carry out the surprise assault and whether local officials or security forces failed to adequately respond.

Haitian authorities have opened an investigation. As part of the inquiry, the mayor of Kenscoff and the police inspector in charge of the sprawling mountaintop rural district have been summoned for questioning.

Haitian judicial authorities have said that 25 or 26 people were killed, based on visits to two morgues. The United Nations has put the death toll at 47. More than 50 people were abducted.

After a U.N. Security Council meeting in which foreign governments called for the release of those being held in captivity, six children and seven women were freed Sunday.

The children included three under the age of 2, a 7-year-old and two adolescent girls, UNICEF said in a statement welcoming the release. Also released was an elderly man. The U.N. agency said it had worked alongside community leaders to support efforts that led to the group’s release.

“This release offers a rare moment of hope amidst the violence threatening children in Haiti,” said Yannig Dussart, UNICEF deputy representative in Haiti. “The Kenscoff abduction was not an isolated incident, but another brutal reminder of the scale and frequency of attacks against children across the country.”

The attack in Kenscoff has generated a new wave of public outrage in Haiti and condemnation from abroad.

Pope Leo XIV joined calls for an end to the violence, expressing his “prayerful closeness to the victims and their families.

“I ask that all the hostages be released without delay,” the pontiff said. He also appealed to those responsible for Haiti’s security to commit themselves to “guaranteeing the safety of the population and putting an end to every form of violence.”