Haitian gangs laid siege to several Port-au-Prince neighborhoods, exchanging gunfire with police for hours and burning homes as hundreds fled the violence.

A majority bloc within Haiti’s newly installed presidential council is doing an about-face on its selection of the country’s next prime minister, saying it will return to the original political agreement to choose the leader of the transitional government from a pool of applicants.

One of the council’s first priorities is to urgently address the deteriorating security situation in the region.