Soldiers have been dispatched to safeguard Port-au-Prince’s airport in Haiti from an assault by armed gangs. Witnesses reported gunfire near Toussaint Louverture Airport as security forces clashed with the armed assailants.

The primary objective of these gangs is to impede the return of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, currently believed to be abroad. In his absence, violence has escalated, with the gangs demanding his resignation.

Prime Minister Henry left Haiti last week to participate in a regional summit in Guyana and subsequently traveled to Kenya to finalize an agreement on deploying a multinational police force to Haiti, the BBC reported.

While his current whereabouts are unknown, a spokesperson for the US State Department indicated, “It’s our understanding that the prime minister is returning to the country [Haiti].”

During his time in Kenya, a coalition of gangs, led by former police officer Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier, launched an offensive, targeting police stations and storming two of Haiti’s major prisons.

The attacks resulted in around a dozen casualties, with numerous inmates escaping and still at large. A minister standing in for Mr. Henry declared a 72-hour state of emergency in response to the crisis.

Written by B.C. Begley