GANGS have rampaged through two neighbourhoods of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, leaving at least a dozen people dead.

Gunmen looted homes in the upmarket communities of Laboule and Thomassin before dawn on Monday, forcing residents to flee as some called radio stations pleading for police to intervene. 

The districts had remained largely peaceful despite a surge in violent gang attacks across Port-au-Prince since February 29.