Violence in Haiti's capital escalates, with gangs targeting medical staff and U.S. airline planes. Political instability and violence have led to restricted flights, cutting off humanitarian aid, as the country faces a looming crisis.

Tension continued to engulf Haiti’s capital on Wednesday as violence once again escalated, prompting residents to flee in panic in search of safety.

Doctors Without Borders, a medical charity, reported that a group of police officers and vigilantes launched an attack on one of their ambulances. The assailants slashed the vehicle’s tires, tear-gassed medical staff, and executed at least two patients.

While Haitians have long endured instability and violence, in the past week, gangs have seized upon the country’s political turmoil to expand their control. On Sunday, the country’s transitional council dismissed interim Prime Minister Garry Conille, swiftly replacing him with businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aimé.

In addition to these developments, gangs also targeted three U.S. airline planes—Spirit, JetBlue, and American Airlines—firing upon them as they landed and took off from the capital, Port-au-Prince. One flight attendant was injured in the attacks, and the Spirit Airlines plane was riddled with bullets.

As a result, the Federal Aviation Administration imposed a 30-day restriction on U.S. airlines flying to Haiti. American Airlines announced that it would suspend its flights to the country until February.

The United Nations also temporarily halted its flights to Port-au-Prince, cutting off access for both humanitarian aid and personnel. This has further isolated Haiti from the international community, exacerbating the already dire situation in the country, where it teeters on the edge of famine.

“We call for an end to the escalating violence, to allow for safe, sustained, and unimpeded humanitarian access," said U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric on Tuesday.