PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – The Director of the Haiti Observatory within the Global Initiative Against Organized Crime, Romain Le Cour, has called on Haitian authorities to break their silence and issue an official statement regarding the drone attacks that left eight children dead in the Simon Pelé neighbourhood of Cité Soleil.

Media reports said that the attack last weekend was aimed at gang leader, Albert Steevenson, alias “Djouma”, who at the time of the attack was preparing to celebrate his birthday and was distributing gifts to children.

The area is believed to be controlled by the Viv Ansanm (Living Together) coalition of gangs, which the United States designated a “foreign terrorist” organisation in May.

One of the group’s leaders and most notorious figures, Jimmy Cherizier, known as Barbecue, promised to avenge the attack.

Le Cour said that the attack raised “urgent questions of accountability” and many hours have passed “since the event, and authorities have still not issued an official statement.

“Who will ultimately bear responsibility for this attack: the Prime Minister? The Presidential Transitional Council? Private security companies? The leadership of the Haitian National Police ?” Le Cour asked.

The Haitian National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH) said the explosions were caused by two kamikaze drones launched by the Haitian National Police task force and that the casualty figures were a conservative estimate, but believed at least four gang members were killed, as well as three civilians.

Authorities in Haiti have been battling gang violence particularly in the capital, Port- au- Prince, where the criminal gangs control approximately 80 per cent of the city.

In June, the government first publicly signalled that it was using drones when local police posted a video on Facebook of an attack on a gang leader.

At a high-level meeting on Haiti in New York on Monday, the United States, Kenya, and Haiti called for support for the transformation of the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country to be a more robust “Gang Suppression Force” (GSF), ahead of a vote at the UN Security Council later this month.

Kenyan President William Ruto acknowledged that the Mission’s efforts had been undermined by a lack of material, logistical, and financial resources.

“Of the 2,500 police officers the force was initially supposed to have, fewer than 1,000 are currently deployed. Added to this are defective American armoured vehicles and a lack of international support.

“We cannot depend on charity. Funding must be predictable,” Ruto said, adding that only a mission with clear objectives, guaranteed resources, and solid logistical support would be able to address these structural deficiencies.

US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Landau, told the conference that Washington is also supportive of the MSS being transformed into a 5,500-member FRG, mandated by the UN under Chapter VII of the organization’s Charter, which allows the Security Council to authorise the use of military force in the event of a threat to peace.

”Despite the contributions of Kenya and the countries that have joined the MSS, though, the mission currently lacks the mandate and the resources necessary to address the mounting scale of the challenge.

“That is why the United States and Panama have worked with Haiti to introduce a UN Security Council resolution to establish a larger gang suppression force with a broader mandate”

He said that the new force would consist of more than five times the size of the current MSS mission, and “this mandate would empower the force to proactively target gangs and restore security to Haiti while ensuring it has the appropriate tools to succeed.

But he acknowledged that the adoption of this resolution is not a done deal. Despite overwhelming support of the UN Security Council, there are still those who might try to prevent its adoption, “or slow our response in Haiti’s hour of need.

“The time for action is now, and the United States asks all our partners to join us in pressing for this critical resolution before the MSS mission mandate expires on October 2”.

For the Haitian authorities, the deployment of a new force is a step in the right direction.

“Haiti cannot and will not be able to face this security crisis fueled by transnational criminal networks alone,” said Laurent Saint-Cyr, President pro tempore of the Transitional Council.

He called for the end of the Mission’s mandate on October 2, 2025, not to result in a security vacuum.

“An interruption would be fatal for Haiti,” he warned.