One of Haiti's most powerful armed groups says it has reached out to the government body responsible for dismantling gangs, in a surprise move that comes as fighting continues across the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The 400 Mawozo gang said on Friday that it had contacted Haiti's National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration, describing dialogue as an act of patriotic responsibility rather than a surrender. In a three-page statement sent to the Associated Press, the group said it wanted peace, stability and national reconciliation, and planned to take part in a peaceful demonstration later this month to prepare the ground for a national dialogue.

The message arrives at a volatile moment. El Salvador has deployed more than 2,000 troops to Haiti after four of its aviation technicians were seized in an ambush on 18 October, and the United Nations says most of those troops are operating outside the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force.

Gang leader killed in police operation

Hours after the gang's statement, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime announced that a gang leader had been killed in a police operation. Haiti's National Police identified him as Mathias Saintil, leader of the Boston gang in the Cite Soleil area of the capital. Police said he was shot several times during the operation and later died in hospital.

The gang's leader, Wilson Joseph, had already written to the UN secretary-general on 1 November asking for a delegation to be sent to Haiti for dialogue and mediation. The disarmament commission had not responded to the gang's approach at the time of reporting, and it remains unclear whether the government will engage with a group it has long treated as a criminal organisation.