William O'Neill, the UN Haitian human rights expert, warned on Friday that gang violence is spreading in the Caribbean country.

A U.N. human rights expert says that gang violence is spreading across Haiti as a U.N.-backed mission targeting criminals remains underfunded and understaffed.

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - The United Nations' expert on human rights in Haiti said on Friday that the situation in the conflict-hit Caribbean nation had worsened and efforts to rebuild security must be amplified as a security mission deadline fast approaches.

The Haitian people are suffering gravely at the hands of powerful criminal gangs, while an international security force and local police are badly lacking resources to protect them, a top UN expert said Friday.

A youth plays with a ring at the end of a wire inside a school where people displaced by gang violence have taken refuge for over a year in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Sept 20. (AP)

A UN expert says Haiti is in a "race against time," as gangs' control over the capital and the massive displacement of the population deepens the country's crisis.The Haitian people are suffering greatly due to the growing control of criminal gangs,