Haiti's government declared on Sunday a state of emergency and a nighttime curfew in a bid to quell a wave of violence sparked by a gang assault on the capital city's main prison that allowed thousands of inmates to escape.

The government said in a statement the state of emergency and 6:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew would be effective from Sunday to Wednesday, March 6.

Both measures would apply to the Ouest region which includes the capital Port-au-Prince, and would be subject to renewal.

The government said the objective of the measures would be to allow it to "re-establish order and take the appropriate measures to take back control of the situation".

Economy Minister Patrick Michel Boisvert signed the statement as the country's acting prime minister.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry was in Kenya last week to sign an agreement to deploy police from the East African country to lead a UN-backed law and order mission to the gang-plagued Caribbean nation.