PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) — One of Haiti’s most powerful gang leaders, best known by his nickname “Barbecue,” fled a police operation in the capital Port-au-Prince that left two of his close associates dead, authorities said Friday.

Jimmy Cherisier, the leader of the Viv Ansanm alliance of gangs, said in a video message Friday that he had clashed with police the day before, without going into further detail.

Cherisier fled the confrontation, leaving behind a rifle, Haitian police said, sharing a photo of the firearm on social media.

The confrontation, which took place in Cherisier’s stronghold district Bas de Delmas, resulted in multiple gang members being shot dead in an exchange of gunfire with police, including two of Cherisier’s close allies.

Haiti has long been rocked by gang violence, but conditions sharply worsened at the end of February when armed groups launched coordinated attacks in Port-au-Prince, saying they wanted to overthrow then-prime minister Ariel Henry, who would resign in April.

His successor, Garry Conille, was dismissed earlier this month by the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT), which appointed Alix Didier Fils-Aime as the current prime minister.

Fils-Aime has promised to restore stability to the country, aiming to hold national elections for the first time since 2016.

Gangs control around 80 per cent of Port-au-Prince, and regularly attack civilians despite the deployment earlier this year of a multinational security mission led by Kenya.

At least 150 people have been killed in Port-au-Prince since November 11, and some 20,000 have fled their homes, according to the United Nations, which estimates at least 4,544 people have been killed as a result of gang violence in Haiti since the beginning of the year.

Most recently, authorities on Tuesday said 28 gang members were killed after confrontations with police and civilian defense groups.