Heavy gunfire was seen on Friday near Haiti’s national palace in its capital of Port-au-Prince, according to reports by news agency EFE, in the midst of political turmoil sparked by Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s absence.

Consequently, flights at Port-au-Prince airport in Haiti’s capital have been disrupted for the second straight day by heavy gunfire nearby, as the Caribbean nation grapples with surging gang violence and political instability, according to The Washington Post.

The newspaper reported on March 9 that the US Embassy in Haiti had issued a security alert a day earlier that warned of warning of gunfire and disruptions to traffic near the domestic and international terminals of the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, as well as surrounding areas including a hotel and the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police.

“The US Embassy is temporarily halting travel of official US personnel to the airport and instructing any US personnel at the airport to remain there,” the paper quoted an embassy statement.

In a separate development, The Irish Times reported on Friday that Haitian politicians are exploring possibilities of forming a coalition to save the country from the gang violence that has closed the main airport and prevented embattled Prime Minister Ariel Henry from returning home.

Haiti remained largely paralysed on Wednesday, with schools and businesses still closed amid heavy gunfire blamed on the gangs that control an estimated 80 per cent of the capital, Port-au-Prince. The country’s two biggest prisons were raided, resulting in the release of more than 4,000 inmates over the weekend.

PM Henry faces increasing pressure to resign, which has triggered a US-supported transition to a new government. One new political alliance involves former rebel leader Guy Philippe and ex-presidential candidate and senator Moise Jean Charles, who told Radio Caraibes on Wednesday that they signed a deal to form a three-person council to lead Haiti.

Philippe, a key figure in the 2004 rebellion that ousted former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, returned to Haiti in November and has been calling for Henry’s resignation.

Haiti entered a state of emergency last Sunday after fighting escalated, armed gangs broke inmates out of prison and an estimated over 10,000 people were displaced while Henry was in Kenya seeking a deal for an international force to fight Haiti’s gangs.

The United States earlier this week called on Haiti’s prime minister to expedite a political transition as armed gangs seek his ouster. Henry, Haiti’s unelected interim leader, landed in the US territory of Puerto Rico on Tuesday.

• A Tell report