20698: (Hermantin)Miami-Herald-Gun accident kills peacekeeper in Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Mon, Mar. 22, 2004

Gun accident kills peacekeeper in Haiti

BY MICHAEL A.W. OTTEY

Miami Herald


GONAIVES, Haiti - A French soldier was killed here Saturday night after
another soldier's weapon accidentally discharged while he cleaned it, a
spokesman for the multinational peacekeeping forces said on Sunday.

Lance Cpl. Johnny Tupana, 27, of the 3rd French Foreign Legion Infantry
Regiment, is the first soldier taking part in the peacekeeping mission to be
killed in Haiti.

U.S. Army Maj. Richard Crusan, a spokesman for the Interim Multinational
Forces, said the shooting was accidental but that French military
investigators would conduct an investigation.

Approximately 140 French Legionnaires arrived in Gonaives on Thursday, part
of 550 French troops on the ground in Haiti. An additional 200 members of a
French support team are on ships offshore. Most of the French troops in
Haiti are patrolling the north, while a few remain in Port-au-Prince, the
capital.

French troops have been setting up their base in Gonaives, a port city 70
miles north of Port-au-Prince. They will assume peacekeeping duties in the
northern region of Haiti, a region that includes Gonaives and Cap Haitien,
cities that fell to rebels who hastened the departure of former President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

DISARMAMENT GESTURE

On Saturday, French troops patrolled Gonaives as rebel leaders turned over
several weapons to the Haitian National Police. Rebel leaders called it a
symbolic gesture toward complete disarmament.

Tupana was the second soldier with the multinational force shot during the
peacekeeping mission in Haiti. On March 14, U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. Howard W.
Hamilton, 20, was shot in the arm while on evening patrol in the Bel-Air
section of Port-au-Prince. He was flown to Miami where he was treated at
Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Hamilton, of Murfeesboro, Tenn., joined the Marine Corps last July.

The multinational force includes troops from the United States, Chile,
Canada and France. The United States has the largest contingent on the
ground -- 1,800 -- followed by the French. Canada has 360 and Chile 330.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Marines and Haitians continue to face risks as the
forces conduct operations. At 10:36 p.m. on Saturday, U.S. Marines fired on
a vehicle that failed to stop at a vehicle checkpoint in the capital. The
Marines fired in an attempt to disable and stop the vehicle, military
officials said.

TWO MEN SHOT

One man in the vehicle was shot in the head and another in the abdomen, but
their wounds were not considered life-threatening, officials said.

According to The Associated Press, relatives identified the driver of the
utility vehicle as Louis Rene Balmir, 43, the passenger as Marcel Luckman.

Both men were in stable condition at Canape Vert Hospital. Relatives told
The AP that Balmir and Luckman were going to a pharmacy to pick up asthma
medicine for Balmir's son. The men said they did not see the checkpoint.

Crusan said U.S. Marines provided first aid to the two men and notified the
Haitian National Police of the shooting.

Balmir, who was shot in the head and underwent surgery to remove bullet
fragments, is married to a U.S. citizen.

PISTOL, AMMUNITION

According to military officials, a pistol and three magazines of ammunition
were found in the vehicle.

The men were out more than a half-hour beyond a 10 p.m. curfew imposed by
international peacekeepers and enforced by Haitian police.

Marines have engaged vehicles in similar scenes and traded fire with
attackers. At least six Haitians have been fatally shot by U.S. Marines
since the peacekeeping mission began.

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