13612: Chamberlain: Seven killed by police in Haiti slum raid (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     PORT-AU-PRINCE, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Haitian National Police killed seven
gang members in a shootout in the Cite Soleil slum in Haiti's capital, an
official said on Friday.
     The seven were killed on Thursday when police stormed a gang base in
the Soleil 17 district of the neighborhood, Cite Soleil Mayor Bruxon Xavier
said on private Radio Metropole.
     "The gang members opened fire on police as they attempted to enter the
zone, and the police responded with force," Xavier said.
     Among those killed was a feared local gang leader, Maxo Moreau, known
by his nickname, "Colonel," Xavier said.
     A gang war in the neighborhood in September left 20 dead, more than
100 wounded by gunfire and hundreds of homes burned.
     Some Cite Soleil residents disputed the official version of the raid,
saying the gang members were killed by civilian vigilantes acting on
government orders.
     "Militants killed those people after the government telephoned them,
not the police," said resident Antonio Saveneur, 22. "Someone wanted to
take these guys out."
     Haiti is the poorest nation in the Americas and the slums of the
capital are hide-outs for both criminal and political gangs.