20642: (Chamberlain) Haiti-Marines (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, March 21 (AP) -- U.S. Marines shot and wounded two men
who failed to stop at a chechpoint in Haiti's volatile capital, a military
spokesman said Sunday.
   The shooting occurred late Saturday in Pont Morin residential
neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, half an hour after the 10 p.m. curfew, Maj.
Richard Crusan told The Associated Press.
   The Marines were patrolling the area when two men in an all-terrain
vehicle slowly drove past a checkpoint and ignored orders to stop, Crusan
said.
   Marines opened fire, hitting one man in the head and the other in the
stomach, he said. Both were taken to a local hospital, and were listed in
stable condition.
   A pistol with three clips of ammunition was recovered from the vehicle,
but Crusan couldn't say if the men fired on the Marines.
   "It's still a little cloudy right now," he said. "We don't know if the
Marines fired because the car ran the checkpoint or if the occupants fired
at them."
   Sunday morning, dozens of onlookers gathered around the bullet-riddled
vehicle, with windows blown out and seats smeared with blood. Across the
street, the national telephone company's building also was pocked with
bullet holes.
   That's not why the troops are here. Instead of easing the situation,
they're complicating it," said one onlooker who refused to give his name.
   Marines have killed six civilians and one Marine has been injured in the
past 10 days in Port-au-Prince.