A new report by the U.N. political mission in Haiti says more than 260 people were killed during recent gang attacks on two communities in the country's capital.

The leader of Haiti’s transitional presidential council has tried to allay surging alarm among Haitians over rampant gang violence by acknowledging that the country has “become hell for everyone” and promising new measures to stop the bloodshed.

The United Nations says that the U.S. has given notice that it is halting funding to a U.N.-backed mission in Haiti tasked with fighting gangs trying to seize full control of the country’s capital.