PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haiti’s main airport remained closed Tuesday, a day after violence broke out as the country swore in its new prime minister in a politically tumultuous transition.

Life in much of the capital was frozen after the wave of violence, which came to a head when gangs shot at a Spirit Airlines plane, beat a flight attendant and forced the closure of flights and the airport. Heavily armed police in armored vehicles in front of the airport checked passing public transport trucks.

Schools were closed, as were banks and government offices. The streets, where just a day earlier gangs and police were locked in a fierce gunfight, were eerily empty, with few on the road other than a motorcycle with a shot man clinging to the back.

The sounds of intense 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 gangs maintained their firm grip on much of the country. part of the Caribbean nation.

The United Nations estimates that gangs control 85% of the capital of Port-au-Prince. A mission supported by the UN led by Kenya Police to quell gang violence struggles with lack of funds and personnel, prompting calls for a UN peacekeeping mission.

The violence comes after a transitional council, tasked with restoring democratic order in Haiti, which has not held elections since 2016, decided to fire the country’s government. Acting Prime Minister Garry Conille who in his six months in office was often at odds with the council.

Despite Conille declaring the move illegal, the council quickly swore in businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aimé as the new interim prime minister. Fils-Aimé promised to work with international partners to restore peace and hold long-awaited elections, a promise also made by his predecessor.

But many Haitians, like Martha Jean-Pierre, 43, have little taste for the political struggle, which experts say only gives gangs more freedom to continue expanding their control as Haiti teeters on the brink of famine.

Jean-Pierre was among those who braved the streets of Port-au-Prince on Tuesday to sell bananas, carrots, cabbages and potatoes from a basket on his head. She had no choice, she said, selling was the only way to feed her children.

“What good is a new prime minister if there is no security, if I can’t move freely and sell my produce,” he said, pointing to his basket of vegetables. “This is my bank account, my family depends on this.”

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Associated Press video journalist Pierre-Richard Luxama contributed to this report.