23196: (Chamberlain) Haiti president pleads for world aid after floods (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     UNITED NATIONS, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Haitian interim President Boniface
Alexandre appealed for world aid for his battered country on Tuesday after
Tropical Storm Jeanne killed at least 660 people in floods and mudslides.
     Alexandre was given the floor to make his plea to dozens of assembled
world leaders and ministers at the opening of the annual United Nations
General Assembly session in New York.
     "In the face of this tragedy, which is of the magnitude of a
humanitarian disaster, I appeal urgently for the solidarity of the
international community," he declared.
     The foreign minister of the Dominican Republic, which shares the
Caribbean island of Hispaniola with Haiti, also made a call for
international assistance to help relief efforts in his country, where at
least 11 people died.
     The storm swept the north of Haiti during the weekend, inundating
cities and sending deadly mudslides through towns and villages.
     Worst hit was the coastal city of Gonaives, birthplace of Haiti's
independence from France 200 years ago.