FAA prohibits US airlines from flying to Haiti; UN suspends flights

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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The Federal Aviation Administration announced Tuesday that it will prohibit U.S. airlines from flying to Haiti for 30 days after gangs shot a Spirit Airlines flight. The United Nations also said it will suspend flights, "obviously limiting the flow of humanitarian aid and humanitarian personnel into the country."

The bullets hit the plane when it was about to land Monday in the country's capital, Port-au-Prince, injuring a flight attendant. It was part of a wave of violence that erupted in Haiti as the country swore in its new prime minister after a politically tumultuous process.

Life in much of Haiti's capital was frozen after the wave of violence, which came to a head when gangs shot the Spirit Airlines airplane Monday, forcing the airport to shut down. Photos and videos obtained by The Associated Press show bullet holes dotting the interior of a plane. A number of airlines suspended flights to Haiti through Thursday, but it was unclear how long closures could drag on.

Neither the former interim prime minister, Garry Conille, nor the newly inaugurated Alix Didier Fils-Aime commented on the violence.

But Luis Abinader, who as president of the neighboring Dominican Republic has cracked down on Haitian migration, called firing on the airplane terrorism.

"This was a terrorist act; the countries that are following and helping Haiti should declare these armed gangs as terrorist groups," Abinader said in a news conference.

On Tuesday, heavily armed police in armored cars outside the airport checked trucks used for public transportation passing by.

Schools were closed, as were banks and government offices. The streets, where just a day before gangs and police were locked in a fierce firefight, were eerily empty.

The sound of heavy gunfire was heard in the streets in the afternoon — 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 slate of gangs kept its firm hold on much of the Caribbean nation.

The United Nations estimates that gangs control 85% of the capital. A U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police to quell gang violence struggles with a lack of funding and personnel, prompting calls for a U.N. peacekeeping mission.

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