PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A coalition of gangs on Saturday stepped up attacks in an attempt to seize one of the few communities in Haiti’s capital not under the control of criminal groups.

After a week-long clash with the police In the Solino neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, members of the gang coalition Viv Ansanm attacked once again, setting fire to several houses; The national police union warned that the area was almost entirely under the control of armed men.

On Saturday morning, images from social media showed the neighborhood covered in smoke and flames. Many people were seen leaving the area with everything they could carry. Security forces and gunmen opened fire on each other near Solino’s police base.

“Solino and Nazon almost lost!” said the national police union SPNH-17, X on Saturday morning. It was also demanded that the officials resign. Nazon, another neighborhood right next to Solino, was also attacked.

Viv Ansanm, meaning “Living Together”, was founded in September 2023 as a coalition of two previously hostile gang federations. He was responsible for multiple attacks on critical government infrastructure in February that eventually led to the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

Gangs on Thursday Opened fire and hit the UN helicopterA US airline temporarily canceled flights to the capital on Friday, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Port-au-Prince. Since last week, residents of Solino have been calling radio stations asking for help as they flee their homes.

In Solino, 33-year-old Garry Jean-Joseph blamed the police for the ongoing violence. “I left with nothing,” he said. “The people of Solino do not understand the conspiracy of the police and the soldiers of Living Together (Viv Ansanm) last night.”

The resident said that at 2 a.m., a police officer in an armored car told residents to go home and that they would secure the neighborhood. But soon residents heard that gangs were occupying the area. “The police handed over Solino,” he added.

Some officers in the Haitian National Police have long been accused of corruption and working with gangs.

The attacks have displaced more than 10,000 people in the capital in just a week, according to a report released Thursday by the U.N. International Organization for Migration. More than half of those who were homeless were crowded into 14 makeshift shelters, including schools. The rest stay with their relatives temporarily.

Gangs control 80% of Port-au-PrinceCommunities like Solino are fighting attempts by gunmen to seize control. As gang violence has increased in Haiti’s capital and beyond in recent days, UN-backed mission led by Kenyan police He finds it difficult to control his restlessness. Thousands of people have died or been injured this year, and more than 700,000 people have been left homeless in recent years.

U.S. and Haitian officials, including Haiti’s interim president, Leslie Voltaire, said the Kenyan mission was short of staff and funds and demanded that a U.N. peacekeeping mission replace it.

Coordinated gang attacks earlier this year forced the government to close Haiti’s main international airport for nearly three months.