A kamikai killed at least eight children and many adults, launching a birthday party of a alleged gang leader in Port-O-Prenz, her capital, where he was distributing gifts, according to local media.
Haiti Libre said today that the aim of the attack on the weekend in Simon Pele was Albert Stevenson, best known for the nickname “Dzuma”.
More than 12 people were killed, but it was not clarified whether Stevenson was among the victims.
The Haitian government began using unmanned aircraft explosives in March, with the support of Vectus Global, a private security company owned by Blackwater Founder Eric Prince, in order to combat violent, armed groups that have controlled much of the capital.
Neither the Police, the Presidency, nor the Vectus Global responded to demands for a comment. The prime minister’s office only said that an investigation was being carried out.
An Insight Crime Institute Analysis at the end of June found that attacks on governmental unmanned aircraft temporarily changed the security landscape, but the legality of these operations are disputed and reports of victims among civilians were increasing.
The details of this latest business in the capital, where gang leaders exercise strict control over communities and authorities rarely comment on public attacks, have just begun to appear.
The UN mission to Haiti estimates that at least 236 people were killed and 223 were injured in unmanned aircraft between April and June this year, six of which were not gang members.
