A new report from the U.N. migration agency reveals that escalating violence in Haiti, driven by clashes with armed gangs since March, has displaced nearly 580,000 people. This alarming figure highlights the severe crisis gripping the Caribbean nation.
While Haiti has long experienced unrest, the situation worsened dramatically at the end of February. Gangs launched coordinated attacks, seizing police stations, firing on the main international airport, which remained closed for nearly three months, and storming the country’s two largest prisons.
The International Organization for Migration’s report, released on Tuesday, indicates that the displacement of over half a million people is primarily due to residents fleeing the capital, Port-au-Prince, for other provinces that lack the resources to support them.
In March, the agency reported over 362,000 internally displaced people in Haiti. Since then, violence has more than doubled the number of displaced individuals in the southern region—already devastated by a 2021 earthquake—from 116,000 to 270,000.
“Nearly all those internally displaced are currently hosted by communities already struggling with overburdened social services and poor infrastructure, raising further concerns about tensions with the potential to spark further violence,” the report said.
In the first three months of this year, over 2,500 people have been killed or injured in Haiti. The National Police, undermanned and outgunned by heavily armed gangs, have struggled to regain control.
Marie Jean, 49, was forced to flee her home in Port-au-Prince with her two children after a gang killed her husband in February. They are currently taking refuge in a public school.
“I lived in a comfortable home that my husband worked hard to build,” Jean told The Associated Press. “Now I’m living in a situation that’s inhuman.”
Juste Dorvile, 39, is also staying at a public school with her 12-year-old daughter and boyfriend as gunshots are heard constantly in the area. “Every day we’re hoping that we survive,” she said.
With gangs controlling at least 80% of Port-au-Prince and major roads, many residents are living in makeshift shelters, including schools now housing over 60,000 people.
The gangs are extorting fees from those needing to use the highways and blackmailing drivers to reclaim hijacked trucks, with minimal police presence to counter these actions.
Haiti’s newly appointed acting prime minister, Garry Conille, who took office last month along with a new Cabinet, attended a ceremony on Tuesday where over 400 officers graduated from the police academy.
These new officers are expected to help curb gang violence. Conille emphasized to the graduates that the people rely on their dedication to combat the prevailing insecurity.
“You need to know that you are not alone,” Conille said. “You are the hope of the population at this crucial moment in our history.”
Violence is also on the rise outside Haiti’s capital. Last week, armed gangs attacked families located in Terre-Neuve, a village in northern Haiti, forcing more than 1,000 people to flee their homes to safer areas.
