GANGS opened fire on a United Nations helicopter, forcing it to land in Port-au-Prince, as violence surged again in Haiti’s capital.

No-one was injured when several rounds of gunfire hit the helicopter, which was carrying three crew members and 15 passengers, according to a UN source. 

The helicopter, which had taken off from Port-au-Prince before it was attacked, landed safely, the source said.

The attack took place five months after Haiti’s main international airport reopened following a shutdown of nearly three months caused by co-ordinated gang attacks.

The violence has spilt over into nearby areas, including Arcahaie, where some 50 suspected gang members died this week after attacking the coastal town just north-west of the capital.

While the majority were killed by police, at least a dozen gunmen drowned when their boat capsized after hitting a reef as they ferried ammunition to the attackers, said Wilner Rene of Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency on Thursday.

He told Radio Caraibes that the attack had begun on Monday, with gunmen burning homes and cars across Arcahaie.

When the gangs ran out of ammunition, they hid in nearby areas and were ferreted out by residents and police, he said.

Officers at the scene urgently need reinforcements from soldiers and special police units, Mr Rene warned.

The attack has been blamed on a gang coalition called Viv Ansanm, which also has targeted communities in Port-au-Prince in recent days. 

More than 10,000 people have been displaced by the violence in the capital in just a week, according to a report published on Thursday by UN agency the International Organisation for Migration. 

The spike in gang violence comes just months after the launch of a US-backed but Kenyan-led mission aimed at crushing the gangs. Thousands of people have died violently and more than 700,000 have been left homeless.

However, given that Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world, some activists are questioning where the gangs get their funding and military hardware from. 

Professor Jemima Pierre of the University of British Columbia has appeared to suggest a wider motive for US involvement in Haiti.

The Haitian-American activist said: “Washington is now basically just manufacturing consent amongst the public that Haitians cannot govern their own country, since it’s profitable for the US to have a base in Haiti and control its resources with endless cheap labour.”