A powerful gang coalition has launched new attacks on Haiti’s capital, while police vow to hold the gunmen back.

Armed gangs attacked the Carrefour Feuilles neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, on Tuesday. According to VOA Creole's reporter on the ground, the attack lasted four hours, during which gangs set fire to homes and pillaged their contents.

The government of Haiti says police have launched a large-scale operation in a shantytown controlled by powerful gang leader Jimmy Chérizier, who is widely known as Barbecue. The authorities say several gang members have been killed in the Lower Delmas area of the capital Port-au-Prince.

Haiti’s police say they will step up efforts to combat the country’s deepening gang crisis after a series of fresh attacks in Port-au-Prince forced more families to flee their homes this week. Authorities evacuated students near the famed Oloffson Hotel after gunfire rang out in western parts of the capital,