Haiti police wrestle control of pirated cargo ship in FIVE-HOUR gun battle with the 5 Seconds and Taliban gangs led by fearsome warlords Izo and Jeff

Haiti police have regained control of a hijacked cargo ship following a deadly five-hour shootout with gangs lead by two bloodthirsty warlords.

Two police officers were injured and an undetermined number of gang members were killed in the gunfire which took place on Saturday off the coast of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Police said those responsible for the hijacking were members of two mobs, named the 5 Seconds, run by Johnson André, known as Izo and the Taliban gang led by Jeff Larose.

The gangs seized the transport ship Magalie along with everyone on board as it left the port of Varreux for Cap-Haitien in the north on Thursday.

Radio Tele Metronome reported that the gangs stole 10,000 out of the 60,000 sacks of rice it was carrying.

It comes as the country has been plunged into the throes of civil war with lawless gangs running riot.

Haiti police have regained control of  hijacked cargo ship 'Magalie' following a deadly five-hour shootout with gangs

Two police officers were injured and an undetermined number of gang members were killed in the gunfire which took place on Saturday off the coast of the capital, Port-au-Prince

Police said one of the gangs responsible for the hijacking was the 5 Seconds, run by Johnson André, known as Izo

It was a rare victory for an underfunded police department that has struggled to quell gang violence following a spate of attacks that began on February 29 led by Jimmy Chérizier, better known as Barbecue.

The most recent gun battle between police and gangs comes more than a month after gunmen began targeting key government infrastructure. 

They have burned down multiple police stations, opened fire on the main international airport that remains closed and stormed Haiti's two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.

On Sunday, news site Radio graphie reported that the Taliban gang used a front loader to demolish a police station in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Canaan where at least four police officers were killed in a recent attack. The station was no longer operational. 

The ongoing violence forced Prime Minister Ariel Henry to announce he would resign once a transitional presidential council is formed.

Henry was in Kenya to push for the UN-backed deployment of a police force from the East African country when the attacks began and remains locked out of Haiti.

In the weeks since he resigned, Haiti has become an 'open-air prison' with 'apocalyptic' violence, the UN warned.

Gang members who now run the streets in the war-torn Caribbean nation are equipped with military-grade guns which have been illegally shipped from the US.

The other warlord said to be responsible for the hijack is Taliban gang leader Jeff Larose

Gang violence erupted in Haiti on February 29 in a series of coordinated attacks led by Jimmy Chérizier, better known as Barbecue

Supplies of food, fuel and medicine have grown sparse amid the infighting, with 18 hospitals forced to close their doors

Weeks of gang violence have forced some 18 hospitals to stop working and caused a shortage of medical supplies as Haiti's biggest seaport and main international airport remain closed, aid workers with The Alliance for International Medical Action, warned.

'The situation is really challenging and affects our movement on a daily basis,' said Antoine Maillard, the organization's medical coordinator based in Port-au-Prince.

The gang violence has driven about 17,000 people in the capital from their homes. Many are crammed into abandoned schools and other buildings where they often share a single toilet.