Nearly 1.5 million displaced in Haiti as violence spreads, UN says
FILE PHOTO: Violence-displaced people line up for food at a shelter in Artibonite department in central Haiti, August 29, 2025. REUTERS/Fildor Pq Egeder/File Photo
Sept 25 - Haiti's displacement crisis is spreading beyond the capital, with nearly 1.5 million people uprooted across the country, the International Organization for Migration said in a report published on Friday.
β’ Nearly 80% of those internally displaced are now located outside the capital of Port-au-Prince, with the sharpest recent displacement increase in Artibonite department, once considered a refuge for families fleeing violence elsewhere, the report said.
β’ Armed gangs in Haiti have near-total control over Port-au-Prince and have been expanding into rural areas.
β’ Near the capital, recent armed attacks in Kenscoff displaced more than 4,000 people, with reports of homes burned, kidnappings and killings, the report said.
β’ Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are living in informal settlements, collective sites or other precarious conditions, increasing their vulnerability during the Atlantic hurricane season, the IOM said.
β’ "For families already displaced by violence, a major storm could trigger another humanitarian emergency," IOM Haiti Senior Emergency Coordinator Elise Verron said in the report. REUTERS
