22392: (Chamberlain) UN-Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By EDITH M. LEDERER

   UNITED NATIONS, June 16 (AP) -- The new U.N. peacekeeping force in Haiti
may soon be getting troops from more countries, the deputy U.S. ambassador
said Wednesday.
   The U.N. force starting arriving on June 1 to replace a 3,600-strong
U.S.-led multinational force sent to Haiti after a three-week rebellion led
the country's elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to flee in
February.
   U.S. deputy ambassador Stuart Holliday said the United States was "very
encouraged" by the smooth transition from American to Brazilian command and
new offers of troops for the U.N. force.
   "I think that we are going to see some new troop contributors like
Argentina and Uruguay who have gotten political authority to send troops,"
Holliday said.
   More than 1,200 Brazilian troops are expected to lead the U.N. force,
which is expected to swell to 6,700 peacekeepers and more than 1,600
international police.
   The Security Council heard a briefing by Assistant Secretary-General for
Peacekeeping Hedi Annabi on the start of the U.N. deployment and the
situation in the Caribbean nation which he said was calm and stable.
   Council members urged countries that pledged troops for the U.N. force
to send them.
   The U.N. troops will conduct security patrols, help disarm former
combatants and assist in humanitarian work. Recent floods killed more than
1,700 people on the Haitian-Dominican border and left some 1,500 missing
and presumed dead.
   The council stressed the importance of an international donors
conference for Haiti in Washington on July 19-20 and urged countries to be
generous.