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 some funding to a U.N.-backed mission in Haiti tasked with fighting gangs trying to seize full control of the country’s capital.