A hail of bullets disrupted an important meeting of Haitian leaders trying to stop the gangs.

There was heavy firing in the city port-au-prince Haiti’s leaders on Thursday took the rare and challenging decision to meet at the National Palace to symbolize the retaking of territory long controlled by powerful gangs.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths, but at least one armored vehicle passing through the area was shot at, according to local media reports.

Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé and members of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council, along with other high-ranking government officials, were at the National Palace when heavy gunfire began.

It was not immediately clear whether officials were evacuated, but local news site Tripote Laake filmed a caravan of official cars speeding out a rear exit of the National Palace as people in the area ran for cover.

Government officials had gathered at the palace for an important meeting in which they were expected to approve the budget and important measures.

Before the meeting began, they gathered on the grounds outside the palace as a police band played and the Haitian flag was raised, with heavily armed officers standing on the second floor behind sandbags for protection.

“This government meeting marks a symbolic and decisive step in the gradual restoration of state control over the city of Port-au-Prince, the historic center of Republican power,” said a government statement issued Thursday, before the shooting began.

Haiti’s leaders have long avoided the National Palace because it is located in an area that until recently was considered unsafe and controlled by a gang alliance known as Viv Ansanam.

But in recent weeks, government workers began clearing and securing the area with the hope of reclaiming it from the gangs’ hands.

“We are taking back control of our capital and giving our people the security and respect they deserve,” Fils-Aimé said shortly before the attack began.

gangs They are estimated to control 90% of Port-au-Prince, and are entrenched in the downtown area and surrounding communities.

Leslie Voltaire, former vice-chair of the Transitional Presidential Council, who chaired the meeting because council leaders were on an official trip abroad, did not mention the violence in a post on Twitter in which she praised the meeting.

“We discussed matters of national importance such as security, the 2025-2026 budget and national governance. The State reaffirms all its rights on the Champ de Mars,” he wrote, referring to the area where the National Palace is located.

The attack comes just days after the UN Security Council approved the creation of a so-called gang suppression force to help repel gangs in troubled areas. Caribbean Country.

The US Embassy in Haiti said Thursday that the US and its Caribbean partners are working to help implement the new force.

“Together, we will defeat the gangs terrorizing the area!” It wrote on X.

This force is expected to replace the UN-backed mission kenyan Police operations are coming to a halt as they are badly affected by lack of resources and personnel.

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