France has evacuated more than 170 nationals and around 70 people of other nationalities from violence-wracked Haiti on French army helicopters, the French Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, March 27.

"More than 170 French nationals and around 70 people of European and other nationalities in a vulnerable situation" were airlifted out, it said in a statement. They have all be taken to a "navy boat that will ferry them today to Fort-de-France" in the nearby French overseas territory of Martinique, it added.

Around 1,100 French citizens live in Haiti, with many of them holding dual nationality, according to the foreign ministry. Paris first announced the flights on Sunday, saying people wanting to leave should contact the embassy in Port-au-Prince.

Port-au-Prince has been rocked by street battles that erupted in late February, prompting the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry earlier this month. His departure, a key demand by an alliance of armed gangs that now control most of the capital, has not lessened the violence.

Haitians have been suffering serious food shortages during the wait for a new transitional government to be formed.