Haiti's main port in Port-au-Prince was forced to close on Thursday due to chaotic gang violence in the Caribbean nation.

The US has called for an urgent political transition, urging Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry to enact "urgent" reform.

The Haiti government extended a state of emergency by one month in the west of the country, including the capital, as prisoners sprung from two jails earlier in the week swelled the ranks of gangs enforcing their control of much of the nation. Caribbean Port Services, the sole operator of the port in Haiti's capital city Port-au-Prince, cited "malicious acts of sabotage and vandalism" as it announced the decision to suspend all services.