PANAMA CITY/PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - United Nations evacuation flights are set to land in Panama City this week as the international organization removes staff from Haiti due to a sharp escalation in violence by armed gangs that have expanded their control over the capital Port-au-Prince.

Gang violence is escalating at alarming rates in Haiti: tens of thousands have been forced from their homes, and critical supply chains have collapsed. Despite the rising peril, the UN has committed to remain in the country,

There are reports that the United Nations is evacuating a small number of staff in Haiti as gang violence escalates in Port-au-Prince. More than 40,000 people have been displaced from the capital in the last ten days according to U.

Since January, nearly five thousand civilian deaths have occurred as a result of relentless gang warfare in Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital city, and its immediate environs. The country itself has slid into a catastrophic humanitarian emergency,