Port-au-Prince residents flee their homes as gangs escalate attacks in the Haitian capital

A gang attack in Port-au-Prince forced residents to flee their homes on Saturday, as gangs operating in and around the Haitian capital stepped up attacks on areas they do not yet control.

Smoke from gun battles billowed over the capital’s Solino neighborhood, where fleeing residents tied mattresses, furniture, cooking utensils and other belongings to trucks.

Others fled on foot, carrying as many belongings as they could.

Gangs have escalated their attacks on a number of towns in and around the capital, where much of the city and its suburbs are under the control of several violent armed groups, united under a common alliance known as Viv Ansanm.