Tuesday, June 1, 2021. Armed groups from Village-de-Dieu and Grand-Ravine go to war with the Tibwa gang for control over Martissant. They unleash violence on the local population. Murders, rapes, homes and businesses set on fire—gangs shoot at anything that moves. In the streets, dogs and pigs feed on bullet-ridden bodies. The police officers from the local substation, also under attack, flee the area, abandoning the population to its fate.

In large numbers, residents of Martissant flee the area in panic, first taking refuge in the public square of Fontamara, then at the Carrefour Sports Center. Thinking the situation would not last, some tried to return home after a few weeks—only to quickly realize they no longer had a home in Martissant.