Saut d’Eau and Mirebalais: Nearly 6,000 Internally Displaced Persons Identified

Violence of rare intensity has plunged Mirebalais and Saut d’Eau into chaos. Nearly 6,000 residents have fled the assaults of armed gangs, abandoning their homes and belongings since March 31, 2025. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), these displaced persons, from 1,272 households, are trying to find refuge in safer areas.

Mirebalais, April 2, 2025 – The attack, led by the Viv Ansanm coalition, targeted strategic points in Mirebalais, including the police station and the prison, facilitating the escape of over 530 detainees. Overwhelmed, law enforcement had to retreat, leaving the city under the control of the assailants. Despite the intervention of elite SWAT units and the deployment of reinforcements by helicopter, the gangs have taken control of several key neighborhoods.

Faced with the escalation of violence, a massive exodus has begun. Following these attacks in the communes of Saut d’Eau (specifically in its 2nd Section La Selle) and Mirebalais (2nd Section Sarazin), IOM figures indicate that 83% of the displaced have found refuge with relatives, while 17% have settled in 14 makeshift sites. With the road to Port-au-Prince blocked, many are seeking to reach other communes in the Centre department, although these remain under threat of gang expansion.

In an attempt to restore order, authorities have appointed a new commissioner, Mathias Jean David, replacing Jean Claude Bazile, who was heavily criticized. However, the police are severely lacking resources, and calls for increased personnel are multiplying.

Meanwhile, the violence continues. A helicopter transporting police reinforcements was targeted in Saut-d’Eau, injuring an officer. Additionally, gangs attempted to use an excavator this Wednesday to wreak destruction in the city of Benoît Batraville, before the machine was intercepted at Carrefour Peligre by the Haitian National Police.

Furthermore, criminals are seeking to seize large buildings in the city to better control the territory and sow chaos. Local sources already report the establishment of gang leaders in certain strategic locations.

Saut-d’Eau, a neighboring commune, is also experiencing repeated gang attacks from Canaan, despite some periods of calm.

As residents still trapped issue calls for help, the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), implemented by IOM, continues to assess the extent of the crisis. If the current trend continues, Mirebalais risks becoming a lost territory, thus expanding the map of insecurity in Haiti.