PORTAUPRINCE  -  Haitians waited nervously for the naming of a transitional govern­ing body that they hope will begin restoring stability to the country wracked by gang violence and large­ly isolated from the outside world.

Attacks continued overnight, tar­geting the Port-au-Prince airport and a top police official’s home, while residents mounted road­blocks in two spots both to impede the criminal gangs and signal their own frustration, an AFP reporter said. Haitians and their support­ers abroad are hoping a transitional body -- to fill the void left by de­parting Prime Minister Ariel Henry -- can help quash the violence that has left 80 percent of the capital city under gang control. 

latest flare-up came after a few days of relative calm in the country that has grappled in recent years with rampant gun battles, kidnap­pings and sexual violence.

In addition to the roadblocks on major roads leading from the capi­tal’s center, gunfire Thursday near the airport left one police officer wounded. The home of the top police commander was also pillaged and burned, the police union reported.

An overnight curfew was extended to Sunday in the Ouest department, which includes Port-au-Prince, in an effort to “retake control of the situa­tion,” according to the prime minis­ter’s office. A state of emergency is set to end April 3. “There are great numbers of prison escapees in the streets,” said Port-au-Prince resident Edner Petit. “The situation is get­ting steadily worse. The decision to impose a monthlong curfew is to be praised ... but it shouldn’t have had to come to that.”

Underscoring the impact of the crisis on ordinary Haitians, the Hai­tian Medical Association on Thurs­day expressed “consternation” over the “forced closure of hospitals” and “acts of physical violence against care personnel.” Henry, whose term in office was marked by rising gang violence, announced Monday he would resign once the transitional council is stood up. The Caribbean regional body CARICOM was hold­ing an emergency meeting with representatives of Haiti, the United Nations and concerned countries in­cluding the United States. 

The meeting charged Haitian po­litical groups with establishing the transitional governing body, and most of those groups have submitted the names of their chosen represen­tatives, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday.