HEAVILY armed gangs struck the city of Mirebalais in central Haiti on Monday, seizing control of a local prison as hundreds of people fled the area under gunfire.

Local media reported that gang members released dozens of inmates in the large-scale attack targeting parts of Mirebalais, just 30 miles north-east of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

In a video posted on social media, a man is seen hoisting an automatic rifle as people around him yelled: “We broke out the prisoners!” Soon after, they began chanting: “They can’t stop us!”