Haiti's main airport remained closed on Tuesday, a day after violence erupted as the country swore in its new prime minister in a politically tumultuous transition.
Life in much of the capital was frozen following the wave of violence, which came to a head when gangs shot a Spirit Airlines airplane, hitting a flight attendant and forcing the flights and airport to shut down. Heavily armed police in armored cars outside the airport checked trucks used for public transportation passing by.
Schools were closed and so were banks and government offices. Streets, where just a day before gangs and police were locked in a fierce firefight, were eerily empty, with few driving by other than a motorcycle with a man who had been shot clinging to the back.
The sounds of heavy gunfire still echoed through the streets - a reminder that despite political maneuvering by Haiti's elites and a strong push by the international community to restore peace, the country's toxic slate of gangs kept its firm hold on much of the Caribbean nation.
The United Nations estimates that gangs control 85 of the capital of Port-au-Prince. A U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police to quell gang violence struggles with a lack of funding and personnel, prompting calls for a U.N. peacekeeping mission .
