In Saut-d'Eau, Gangs Supplant the State and Hijack the Mount Carmel Festival

Every July 16, Saut-d'Eau becomes a major site of religious fervor. But in 2025, the holy city, deserted by its population and abandoned to armed groups, saw its traditions trampled. In the total absence of the State, gangs took possession of the patronal festival. The celebration of Our Lady of Mount Carmel this July 16, 2025, did not unfold as usual. The tens of thousands of pilgrims who converge annually on Saut-d'Eau to celebrate in an atmosphere of contemplation and joy were absent. When Bandits Party The city in the Centre department remained silent, emptied of its inhabitants, its holy sites abandoned, its traditions suspended. The cause: the total control of gangs over the commune since the bloody attack on March 31, led by the armed groups “400 Mawozo” and “Taliban,” united within the criminal coalition Viv Ansanm. Result: fleeing population, businesses halted, places of worship deserted. And for the first time in decades, no pilgrim set foot in the famous miraculous spring. No procession, no Vodou ritual, no religious service could be organized. “There was no celebration. The residents fled. We could not welcome pilgrims or visitors to honor our culture,” said a bitter Marie André Ruth Thélus, president of the interim municipal commission. “City of Happiness” Profaned Images circulated on social media depict a surreal scene: heavily armed gang leaders, accompanied by men in uniform, paraded through the city to the cheers of a few people present. Instead of prayers, wads of cash were distributed, and the Mount Carmel festival transformed into a display of criminal force. Deeply shocked, the mayor offered her condolences to families bereaved by the violence and expressed solidarity with ruined merchants. “These are terrorists who defile our tourist sites, with the complicity of white-collar bandits,” she denounced, pointing to the blatant inaction of central authorities. According to the mayor, since the attack, no major operation has been launched. The Ministry of Interior attempted contact, but nothing more. The rest of the government seems to remain deaf and invisible. This lack of State response goes beyond the security dimension alone. The cancellation of the Mount Carmel festival had dramatic economic consequences: accommodations, small businesses, restaurants, crafts… an entire local ecosystem that relied on this period to survive was pulverized. Beyond a missed religious event, the situation in Saut-d'Eau embodies the failure of a State incapable of protecting its citizens, its traditions, and its symbols. Uprooted families, out-of-school children, a fleeing population… and a city once dubbed “City of Happiness,” now occupied, profaned, disfigured. Saut-d'Eau thus becomes the sad mirror of a country abandoned to itself, where armed violence replaces institutions, and where the sacred is delivered to chaos. By Wideberlin SENEXANT