U.S. Marines came under fire in Haiti on Thursday night as the troubled island continues to devolve into deeper and deeper chaos.

“Marines supporting embassy security operations were fired upon” in the capital of Port-au-Prince and returned fire, Capt. Steven Keenan, a Marine Corps spokesman, said of the incident, according to The Washington Post.

No Marines were injured, he said.

This was not the first time Americans came under fire but was more significant than past incidents, he said.

“U. S. Marines are committed to the safety and security of U.S. embassies worldwide and respond to all threats with professionalism and swift, disciplined action,” Keenan said.

In August, the U.S. Embassy in Haiti said Marines arrived to “provide security for our diplomatic post and coordinate an eventual rotation of Marines” who were previously deployed to protect the embassy.

Security at the embassy was increased last year as gang activity increased.

Haiti has been without an elected president since 2021 and is theoretically governed by a transitional council that has little control over the nation.

Armed gangs have power over about 85 percent of the capital.

In July, the State Department warned against travel to Haiti.

In another Thursday night incident, police traded fire with gangs.

Police believe they killed seven gang members, but a police helicopter was lost in the operation, according to ABC News.

Authorities said the helicopter had a “suspected malfunction” and was destroyed so that gangs could not use it.

Gang violence has sent 1.4 million people in Haiti from their homes, according to the U.N. International Organization for Migration.

Between July 1 and Sept. 30, at least 1,247 people in Haiti were killed and 710 injured due to violence, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti said, according to the Miami Herald.

At least 145 kidnappings for ransom took place during that quarter while 400 people were victims of sexual violence.

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