Armed gangs launched new attacks in the outskirts of Port-au-Prince on Wednesday, and the echoes of heavy gunfire resounded in communities that were once peaceful near the Haitian capital.

Associated Press journalists reported seeing at least five bodies in the suburbs and surrounding areas, and gangs closed off entrances to some neighborhoods.

People in the communities exposed to the shooting called radio stations for help from the Haitian National Police force, which still suffers from staffing shortages and is outnumbered by the gangs. Among the communities targeted in the pre-dawn hours were Petionville, Myotte, Diego, and Metivier.

Samuel Aurelius said, "When I woke up to go to work, I found that I could not leave because the neighborhood was in the hands of bandits." "There were about 30 men carrying heavy weapons. If the neighborhood had mobilized, we could have destroyed them, but they were heavily armed, and we could do nothing.”

By Wednesday afternoon, another victim was reported: a police officer was killed in broad daylight in a Port-au-Prince neighborhood known as Delmas 72, according to the police union SYNAPOHA.

As attacks continued, the U.S. State Department announced on Wednesday that it had completed the first evacuation operation of American citizens from Port-au-Prince. More than 15 Americans were airlifted to neighboring Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic.

The agency said that more than 30 American citizens would be able to leave Port-au-Prince daily on helicopter flights organized by the U.S. government.

The department added, "We will continue to monitor requests from American citizens for assistance in leaving Haiti in real time."

On Sunday, the agency evacuated more than 30 American citizens from the coastal city of Cap-Haitien in northern Haiti to Miami International Airport.

We hope that conditions will soon allow commercial means for people to travel from Haiti. The State Department said that we, the international community, and Haitian authorities are working to make that a reality.

Kevin Guthrie, the executive director of the government agency, said at Sanford Airport in Florida, where passengers are expected to head to Haiti, that a plane chartered by Florida's Emergency Management on Wednesday also evacuated 14 Florida residents, including children, from Haiti.

Guthrie said at a press conference, accompanied by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, that more than 300 Florida residents are in Haiti, and the Florida-sponsored operation is working to get them out on future flights despite bureaucratic obstacles from the U.S. government and safety threats in Haiti.

DeSantis said, “We are aware that there are people in real danger right now who are Florida residents.”

Wednesday's attacks in parts of Port-au-Prince came two days after gangs committed violence in the upscale neighborhoods of Laboule and Thomassin in Petionville, killing at least ten people.

The violence led to the closure of banks, schools, and businesses throughout Petionville, which had so far been largely shielded from the gang attacks that broke out on February 29.

Armed men set fire to police stations, forced the main international airport in Haiti to close, stormed the country's two largest prisons, and released more than 4,000 prisoners.

Dozens of people were killed, and about 17,000 others were displaced amid the violence.

Meanwhile, Haitians are awaiting the possibility of forming a new leadership as Caribbean officials rush to help form a transitional presidential council responsible for appointing an interim prime minister and cabinet.

An official in the regional trade bloc CARICOM, not authorized to speak to the media, told The Associated Press late Wednesday that the Peyi Desalin party led by Jean Charles Moïse was no longer a voting member on the council after initially refusing to take a seat. The party was the last remaining opposition group, meaning the nine-member council has now been fully formed, although its members have not been publicly disclosed.

Moïse recently formed an alliance with Jay Philip, a former rebel leader who helped topple former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and who returned to Haiti in November after spending time in a U.S. prison following a guilty plea in a money laundering case.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who was banned from traveling to Haiti when airports closed, said he would resign once the council is formed.