INFAMOUS warlord Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier has lost a top commander in a shootout just as he is feared to be gearing up to launch a bloody coup.
Ti Greg, boss of Delmas 95 gang, was sprung from prison in a mass jail break earlier this month, which kicked off a new dawn of gang-led violence that has propelled Haiti towards the brink of collapse.
Bodies are piling up on the streets of Port-au-Prince which is engulfed in an all-out civil war between more than 200 gangs, a weak police force and more recently citizen-led death squads.
Thousands have been killed this month amid widespread reports of murder, rape, arson and kidnappings as the once warring gangs have loosely unified to lead coordinated attacks.
Ti Greg, also known as Ernst Julme - a leader inside Barbeque's "Viv Ansanm" alliance - had recently escaped from Haiti's largest prison in a huge gang-led jailbreak on March 2.
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However, his death at the hands of Haiti's police marks a setback for the armed gangs' moves to take over more of Port-au-Prince.
However, Barbecue, a former elite cop, 47, who heads the capital's most fearsome gang coalition, appears undeterred in his mission to overthrow Haiti's shaky government.
The murderous crime boss is rumoured to have earned his nickname for setting his victims on fire and has led a long reign of terror over the poorest areas of the city.
But in the wake of recent violence, he is now battling for complete control of the small Caribbean island nation of 11 million.
He has been greedily and ruthlessly capturing territory and now rumours are flying that the unified gangs are gearing themselves up for a coordinated assault - in coming days - to seize power, The Times reports.
The killing of Ti Greg comes two days after another gang leader was killed by citizen vigilantes in a brutal attack in the upscale neighbourhood Petion-Ville.
After a prolonged shoot out, gang boss Makandal and two suspected gang members were killed, mutilated and burnt in the open street.
Locals, including children, were filmed loudly cheering at the site of his smouldering body and their fury was evident when they set fire to his home and belongings.
The grisly group of locals appear to be fighting back against the heavily armed criminal groups who have laid siege to the capital and claim control of up to 90 per cent of it.
The eastern suburb, once considered a safe-zone in the violence-ridden city and filled with embassies, is being dragged into the carnage as the gangs expand their territories.
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As gun battles raged through the streets, terrified residents barricaded themselves inside their homes as at least 18 deaths were reported in Pention-Ville on Wednesday.
Police and locals reported the deadly clash as evidence of a resurgence of vigilante justice movement Bwa Kale, which is believed to have struck again yesterday, killing one.
Lawless state
For more than two years, warring factions have been tearing Port-au-Prince apart and turned every day into a fight for survival.
But Haiti has been rocked by a surge of unrest since February when armed groups raided a prison, releasing more than 5,000 inmates, and demanded Prime Minister Ariel Henry resign.
After weeks of anarchy, the de facto PM said he would step down last week - a demand of the increasingly powerful and unified gangs.
However, the unprecedented violence has continued as Henry remains stranded outside the country.
The state has been largely absent during the violence and Haiti's outmanned and outgunned police are ill-equipped against the gangs which are seeking to expand their territorial control of the capital city.
Plans for an international security mission, requested by Henry in 2022, remain on hold.
The US estimates roughly 1000 of its citizens are trapped in the Caribbean country as its military scrambles to evacuate them.
The capital's port and airport are still being blockaded by gangs, while police stations, public buildings and other state facilities have been attacked.
The violence has exacerbated an already grim humanitarian situation, with warnings of famine, malnutrition and the collapse of basic services.
More than 1.5million Haitians are at risk of famine and 360,000 Haitians - half of them being children - have been displaced, according to aid agencies.
Philippe Branchat, chief of the International Organization for Migration, said in a statement: "People living in the capital are locked in, they have nowhere to go.
"The capital is surrounded by armed groups and danger. It is a city under siege."
