Fighting breaks out in Haiti’s capital as the prime minister is replaced

Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince saw gunfire between police and gangs as violence escalated on the same day Alix Didier Fils-Aimé was set to replace Garry Conille as interim prime minister. Footage showed heavily armed police and civilians fleeing gunfire as gangs tried to take control of the main airport.

The transition council’s appointment of Fils-Aimé, a businessman and former president of the Chamber of Commerce, comes amid a protracted democratic crisis in Haiti that has been exacerbated by gang violence and infighting. Efforts to stabilize the situation, including mediation by the Organization of American States, have so far failed.