Haiti is reeling from a new massacre perpetrated by armed gangs, which left around 70 people dead. Survivors, fleeing the violence, have been forced to abandon their homes and belongings. Many have found temporary shelter in schools, but living conditions there are extremely harsh. 'We have nothing to put on the floor to sleep on,' one survivor recounted. Women, men, and children are forced to live together without any privacy or comfort. 'You find a place to take refuge, but you are not comfortable, and there you get to know misery,' a woman who witnessed the attack shared. The attack occurred during the night of March 28-29, 2026. An armed group blocked the main roads to prevent police from responding. 'While we were sleeping, we heard gunshots outside. Some people fell into wells and died after being shot,' recounted survivor Bazeline Pierre. Many refugees, including families with children, are now hiding even in the mountains, without food, water, or blankets. 'We are told that the gangs are advancing towards us, so we took the route through the hills to take refuge here, in a school,' one of the displaced explained. Since 2018, Haiti has been facing an unprecedented security crisis, characterized by a proliferation of armed attacks, massacres, robberies, and rapes by gangs. Between March 1, 2025, and January 15, 2026, alone, there were 5,519 deaths and 2,608 injuries. On April 1, 2026, the first troops from Chad arrived in Haiti as part of the UN-created Gang Suppression Force (FSG), which is replacing the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), which failed to achieve the expected results in combating gangs.
