Huge demonstrations rocked Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, with thousands of demonstrators saying the government was trying to establish a new dictatorship, and denouncing international support for President Jovenel Moise.

The protests were mostly peaceful, apart from a few clashes between some demonstrators and police, who fired tear gas and rubber bullets.

Protesters waved the national flag and chanted, “Down with the dictatorship!”

Government claimed last Sunday that they had foiled an attempt to murder Moise and overthrow the government. Police arrested 23 people, accusing them of an “attempted coup.”

Moise has been ruling by decree for a year because there is no parliament right now. Legislative elections due in 2018 were delayed.

He also maintains that his term lasts until February 2022 — but the opposition argues it should have ended last weekend, in a standoff over disputed elections.

The dispute stems from Moise’s original election. He was voted into office in a poll subsequently canceled after allegations of fraud, and then elected again a year later, in 2016.

Also read: Myanmar in ‘near-total internet shutdown’ as troops fire to break up protest

The issue has led to weeks of violent protests on the streets of the poor Caribbean country.

The United States has backed Moise’s position, with State Department spokesman Ned Price saying on February 5 that “a new elected president should succeed President Moise when his term ends on February 7, 2022.”

Sunday’s protests questioned the legitimacy of Moise’s term length and foreign backing for his holding office.

Police officers also fired live ammunition into the air in Petion-Ville, a wealthy commune in Port-au-Prince where a car was set on fire.