Nearly 1,000 Americans in Haiti plea for help, State Dept. says, as gangs unleash new attacks

Join Fox News for access to this content Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account - free of charge. Please enter a valid email address. By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News' Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive. To access the content, check your email and follow the instructions provided. Having trouble? Click here.

The State Department revealed Monday that nearly 1,000 Americans have filled out a "crisis intake form" seeking assistance in Haiti – a country it is now calling "one of the most dire humanitarian situations in the world."

State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel made the remark hours after dozens of Americans landed in Miami on a U.S. government-chartered evacuation flight from Haiti, where reports are emerging of gangs killing at least 12 people early this morning in a suburb of Port-au-Prince following the looting of homes in two upscale neighborhoods in the Caribbean country’s capital.

"It is not hyperbole to say that this is one of the most dire humanitarian situations in the world," Patel said. "Gang violence continues to make the security situation in Haiti untenable, and it is a region that demands our attention."

"This is a fluid situation and the number of individuals who have reached out to us through the crisis intake form is approaching a thousand," he added, referring to the form on the State Department’s website.

STATE DEPARTMENT CONFIRMS MORE THAN 30 AMERICANS EVACUATED FROM HAITI ON US-GOVERNMENT CHARTERED FLIGHT

"And we're continuing to monitor the situation closely and evaluate the demand of U.S. citizens, evaluate the overall security situation, evaluate what is