A drone attack targeting a suspected gang leader killed at least eight children and injured six others in Cité Soleil, a gang-controlled slum of Haiti’s capital, relatives and activists told The Associated Press on Monday. They blamed police for launching the strike on Saturday night.The explosions struck during a gathering reportedly organised by suspected gang leader Albert Steevenson, known as Djouma, who was preparing to celebrate his birthday. Haiti’s National Human Rights Defense Network said Steevenson was distributing gifts to children at the time.“This is my daughter,” said Claudia Bobrun, 30, showing AP a video of her 8-year-old girl lying in a pool of blood. Tears rolled down her face as she replayed the clip.Residents said at least 13 people died, including civilians and suspected gang members. Victims included the two grandchildren and son of 60-year-old Michelis Florville. “People were running right and left,” he recalled.Nanouse Mertelia, 37, said her son was killed after being caught in the blast. “Come get me, come get me, please mama,” she quoted him as saying before he died from blood loss. The rights group accused police of using two kamikaze drones in the Simon Pelé community of Cité Soleil. Activists added that a similar drone operation in downtown Port-au-Prince earlier this month killed at least eleven civilians.“However, the drones have not targeted terrorist leaders. On the contrary, these leaders have grown more at ease and increasingly arrogant, even moving openly in convoys. Drones must not be selective, and they must also ensure the protection of civilians to avoid collateral damage,” the group said.The attack follows the creation of a new task force earlier this year that operates outside Haiti’s police oversight, relying on certain units and private contractors using explosive drones.It comes as private security firm Vectus Global, linked to former US Navy Seal Erik Prince, prepares to deploy nearly 200 foreign personnel to Haiti under a one-year contract. The government has confirmed it is working with foreign contractors but has not disclosed the terms of the deal.Meanwhile, the UN-backed multinational mission in Haiti continues to face resource shortages, with just 991 personnel deployed against a target of 2,500, and funding standing at $112 million of the $800 million required annually, according to a recent UN report.
