At least five people are thought to have died during a United Nations raid on the base of an illegal armed group in the Port-au-Prince slum of Cité Soleil yesterday.
More than 350 UN troops in armoured carriers stormed a house where gang leader Emmanuel Wilme, known as "Dread Wilme", was believed to have taken refuge, said a military spokesman for the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti.
Other witnesses said at least 10 people were shot dead during the raid in which several dozen Haitian police also took part.
No UN peacekeepers were injured in the early morning raid, which was part of an effort to end the rampant violence that plagues the Haitian capital.
Several Cité Sole residents said Wilme was among those killed, but police and UN officials in Haiti said they could confirm only that Wilme had been seriously wounded.
Wilme, a loyalist to former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, led a well-armed gang that has waged deadly gunfights with rival gangs in Cité Soleil.
Aristide fled the country in February 2004 in the face of an armed revolt and under US and French pressure to quit. He is living in exile in South Africa.
An interim government has scheduled elections to choose a new president and parliament on December 13th, with a possible runoff on December 18th. A ballot to elect local government officials is scheduled for October 9th.