The European Union has evacuated all its diplomatic personnel from Haiti because of "the dramatic deterioration of the security situation" there with armed gangs taking control of much of its capital, a spokesman said Monday.

"Currently we have removed and evacuated all the EU staff from Haiti," said European Commission spokesman Peter Stano.

The European Union is "extremely concerned" about developments in Haiti over recent days, he added.

"As a response to the dramatic deterioration of the security situation, we took the decision to reduce our activities on the ground and we moved the staff of the EU delegation in Port-au-Prince to a safer location outside of the country," Stano said.

Essential staff are continuing to work "but not from Haiti itself", he said.

"We are, of course, assessing the situation and will be adjusting the ways how we operate as the situation, as the security situation develops," Stano said.

CARICOM, an alliance of Caribbean nations, has summoned envoys from the United States, France, Canada and the United Nations to a meeting in Jamaica on Monday to discuss the violence and ways to provide assistance to Haiti.