Gang members stormed the town of Mirebalais in central Haiti on Monday and released about 500 inmates from prison.
A spokesman for Haiti’s national police said extra officers had been deployed to the town, which is located 50km (30 miles) north-east of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Police officials said they had regained control of Mirebalais, but local reports warned that many of the escaped inmates were still roaming the streets.
Armed gangs are in control of almost the entire capital, but this latest attack seems to suggest that they are increasingly targeting towns in other areas of the country.
Mirebalais is located on the crossroads of two main roads, one leading north from Port-au-Prince to the coast, and another leading east to the Dominican Republic.
Locals said heavily armed men had fired at buildings and passers-by and had set buildings and cars alight, sending residents fleeing for their lives.
They also attacked the local police station and stormed the jail, where an estimated 500 people were being held, and freed those inside.
A local radio journalist told the Associated Press news agency that the attackers belonged to two gangs – the 400 Mawozo and a group calling itself “Taliban” – which both form part of the Viv Ansam gang coalition and control northern parts of Port-au-Prince.
It is thought the two gangs may be trying to gain control of key roads leading from their areas into the countryside.
The 400 Mawozo is infamous for kidnapping people for ransom. They have often targeted busses travelling to and from the capital.
The Taliban gang has its stronghold in Canaan, a suburb in the north of Port-au-Prince.
The attack came just days after the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) in Haiti confirmed that a Kenyan police officer, Benedict Kabiru, had been shot dead in a gang attack.
The multinational force has been trying to help Haiti’s national police regain control of gang-ruled areas but locals say they have so far made little progress.
Kabiru was the second Kenyan to be killed while on duty in Haiti.
In total, more than 5,600 people were killed in Haiti last year as a result of gang violence, according to United Nations figures.
A further 2,212 people were injured and 1,494 kidnapped in 2024, the UN said.
