23138: (Chamberlain) Haitian police detain 86 in pro-Aristide slum (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Sept 10 (AFP): Haitian police have arrested 86 people in an
effort to disarm gangs in a Port-au-Prince slum considered a bastion of
supporters of former president Jean Bertrand Aristide, police said
Thursday.

Shots could be heard Thursday in the Cite Soleil neighborhood, where dozens
of police officers took part in the operation in the capital's largest
slum, which has 400,000 residents.

Some 10 people have been killed in Cite Soleil this week in skirmishes
between armed groups.

The slum is home to many Aristide supporters. The former president fled the
country on February 29 amid a popular and armed uprising against his rule.

A 3,000-strong United Nations stabilization force has been in the country
since June, but it was not immediately known if it took part in the police
operation.