The U.S. Peace Corps has evacuated 16 volunteers and suspended operations in the Caribbean island nation of Haiti amid escalating violence and security concerns.
The withdrawal of the Peace Corps team comes three weeks after the U.S. Department of State issued a travel warning that ordered all non-emergency personnel and U.S. Embassy families to leave Haiti immediately. The State Department warns of spontaneous violent confrontations between armed groups and an absence of an effective police force in much of Haiti.
Two U.N. peacekeepers from Peru were wounded Thursday when their armored patrol vehicle was attacked by armed gunmen.
More than 700 people, including 40 police officers, have been killed in Haiti since September.
Some information for this report provided by AP.
