PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) — Heavy gunfire erupted early Saturday in the Haitian capital as residents, already enduring chaotic violence and grave food shortages, awaited word of progress in forming a transitional government meant to restore stability.

Residents contacted by Agence France Presse (AFP) said armed criminals had attacked a base of the Departmental Operation and Intervention Brigade (BOID), a rapid-reaction force, in the Fort National neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince.

Another specialised unit in the capital area, the Motorized Intervention Brigade (BIM), was also attacked, locals said.

The scenes of chaos played out as the impoverished Caribbean country continued a tense wait for the establishment of a transitional government
— part of a deal that brought the promised resignation of unpopular Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

The nine members of a presidential transitional council, representing a range of Haitian society, were to meet via Zoom on Saturday afternoon with representatives of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) to finalise details on the new governing body, according to an official close to the council.

It was not clear how close a final deal might be.

Henry agreed on March 11 to step down, but negotiations on forming a transitional government have been slow despite pressure from neighbouring Caribbean countries and the United States.

The council is meant to name an interim prime minister to oversee the country’s first elections since 2016.

The political chaos and street violence are taking place against a backdrop of increasingly desperate hunger.

Farhan Haq, a spokesman for the UN secretary general, said roughly half the Haitian population faces “crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity”.

Haiti has been rocked by violence since late February, when the country’s gangs launched a coordinated offensive, raiding a prison and releasing thousands of inmates as they demanded Henry resign.

Amid the sharply worsening conditions, more than 33,000 people have fled the capital area in the past two weeks, according to the UN International Organization for Migration.

Many foreigners have fled the country, and the US Embassy has been evacuating any American citizens hoping to leave.

The State Department said Friday evening that it had helped 230 citizens leave since March 17.

And it renewed a blunt warning to US citizens: “Do not travel to Haiti.”