(United Nations) The number of internally displaced people has increased by 60% since March in Haiti due to intensifying gang violence, now reaching a total of nearly 600,000 people, according to the International Organization for Migration ( IOM).

“The numbers we are seeing today are a direct consequence of years of escalating violence – reaching a new peak in February – and its catastrophic humanitarian impacts,” Philippe Branchat, head of the UN organization in Haiti, said in a statement.

“The never-ending crisis in Haiti is forcing more and more people to flee their homes and leave everything behind. These are not decisions taken lightly. And worse: for many, it’s not the first time,” he added.

According to IOM data released Tuesday, the country now has 578,074 displaced people, compared to 362,551 at the beginning of March, for a total of more than 10 million inhabitants.

While the year 2024 has not even passed by half yet, the number of displaced people this year “is already almost identical to the number of displaced people” in 2023, highlighting the worsening security situation, the report notes.

This increase is largely linked to the large number of people who have fled Port-au-Prince to take refuge in other provinces which do not necessarily have the resources to welcome them.

The IOM has identified nearly 95,000 people leaving the capital between March 8 and April 9, notably to go to the Grand Sud province, where the displaced now represent 10% of the population.

Haiti has suffered from chronic political instability for decades. But in recent months, the country has faced a resurgence of gang violence, which controls 80% of the capital Port-au-Prince.

Nationally, the majority of the approximately 600,000 displaced people (80%) are hosted by families, according to IOM data.  

But this is not the case in the capital which has seen an increase in the number of improvised sites – including schools – where displaced people live “in unsanitary conditions”.

The IOM now estimates the number of displaced people in the Port-au-Prince metropolis at nearly 185,000, a 15% increase since the beginning of March.