Dajabon, Dominican Republic CNN —The United States and other diplomatic missions have begun evacuating personnel from Haiti, as gang violence in the Caribbean nation’s capital Port-au-Prince continues to spiral. US Southern Command said the move was consistent with “standard practice for Embassy security augmentation worldwide.” No Haitians were on board the military aircraft, it added. Another source with knowledge of the operations told CNN there have been at least 12 helicopter evacuation flights into Port-au-Prince over the past three days, all evacuating diplomatic and humanitarian staff. However, shots fired nearby after the last flight’s take off on Sunday have called into question the viability of continuing the evacuation flights, the source said. The World Food Programme suspended its maritime transport services in Port-au-Prince from distributing aid across Haiti due to the instability.

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Persons: Dajabon, ”, Joe Biden, Peter Sauer, Stefano Gatto, —, Prince, Gang, Jimmy Cherizier, Ariel Henry, Stephane Dujarric, Henry Organizations: Dominican Republic CNN, CNN, US State Department, US Southern Command, Southern Command, National Security Council, CNN Helicopter, European Union, EU, Caribbean Port Services, Dominican, United Nations, US Department of Treasury, Food, UN, OCHA, Kenya, Kenyan, Caribbean Locations: Dominican Republic, United States, Haiti, Caribbean, Port, Dominican, Haitian, Santo Domingo, Petionville, Haiti’s, Puerto Rico, CARICOM, Kingston