Fourteen bodies were found in an affluent suburb of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince on Monday, as international efforts accelerated to fill a political vacuum created by weeks of gang violence that has forced the impending departure of the prime minister.

Local residents told AFP they did not know the circumstances of the deaths but said that the Laboule and Thomassin neighbourhoods, in the suburb of Pétion-Ville, had been under attack by what they said were armed criminals since dawn.

Witnesses said gang members attacked a bank, a gas station and homes in the area, and gunfire continued to ring out in Pétion-Ville in the afternoon.

Amid the violence Monday morning, a judge narrowly escaped an attack on his home, a relative told AFP.

Haiti has been engulfed for three weeks in a gang uprising by well-armed groups saying they want to topple prime minister Ariel Henry.

Last week, Henry agreed to step aside to allow the formation of an interim government, following pressure from neighbouring Caribbean countries, including the Caricom (Caribbean Community) regional body and the United States.

The situation remains dire even as Washington voiced hope on Monday that a transitional body to lead the country, set up at a crisis meeting a week ago, could be ready “as soon as today”.

“I understand that Haitian stakeholders are very close to finalising membership and remain in active discussions with Caricom leaders as it relates to the make-up of the Transitional Presidential Council,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters in Washington.

Free and fair elections

“The announcement of this council, we believe, will help pave the way for free and fair elections and the deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission,” he said, referring to a UN-backed, Kenyan-led force that aims to bring stability to Haiti.

The council, which will include seven voting and two observer members representing a broad spectrum in Haiti and its diaspora, will be in charge of naming an interim government before elections, which have not been held since 2016.

The US remarks came as the United Nations announced that the first helicopter flights had begun in an air bridge set up between Haiti and neighbouring Dominican Republic to deliver aid.

Unicef, the United Nations’ children’s agency, offered a bleak assessment of the situation in the country over the weekend, saying Sunday it was “almost like a scene out of Mad Max,” and warning people were suffering “famine and malnutrition” with aid groups unable to gain access.

That same day, a curfew was extended until Wednesday in the Ouest department, which includes Port-au-Prince. A state of emergency is set to end on April 3.

Several countries including the US and European Union member states have evacuated diplomatic personnel from Haiti due to the crisis.

Meanwhile, efforts are continuing to organise Nairobi’s security mission to back up Haiti’s overwhelmed police force.