HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — The Cuban government said Friday it had started evacuating more than 250 citizens trapped for nearly two months in Haiti, which is wracked by gang violence and political turmoil.

Cuban nationals will first be transported in a convoy of buses from the capital Port-au-Prince to Cap-Haitien, on the Caribbean country’s northern coast, the foreign ministry said on X, formerly Twitter.

From there, they will be flown back to Cuba on flights operated by Sunrise Airways, which is based in Haiti, the ministry added.

Ministry sources said the first flight was expected to arrive in Cuba on Friday at Camaguey airport, 500 kilometres (310 miles) east of the capital Havana.

Four more flights are expected in Camaguey over the weekend, and a sixth in Santiago de Cuba Sunday.

Haiti, already in the throes of a political and security crisis, has seen an uptick in violence since late February, when several armed gangs joined forces to attack strategic sites in Port-au-Prince. The capital’s airport has been closed ever since.

The unrest surprised Cubans who travel regularly to Haiti to buy items they resell in their own country, where shortages of basic goods are rife.

A 24-year-old Cuban vendor who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity last month said the aircraft she was about to board in late February came under fire, and the flight was scrapped.

She had been stuck ever since in Port-au-Prince with other Cubans.

In March, the United Nations, United States, France, the European Union and other countries started evacuating foreign nationals from Haiti.

On March 11, Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned. A transitional ruling council has since been established in an effort to restore a semblance of order in the impoverished country.