23369: (Chamberlain) UN peacekeepers wounded (later story) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By STEVENSON JACOBS

   GONAIVES, Oct 10 (AP) -- Two U.N. peacekeepers were wounded in shootouts
with supporters of Haiti's ousted president in the capital and storm
survivors in flood-ravaged Gonaives, the first casualties of the
4-month-old U.N. mission, officials said Sunday.
   Relief workers from Doctors Without Borders also came under attack in
Gonaives, and the French group said it was evacuating its staff of seven
until security improves.
   Outside a memorial Mass for flood victims of Tropical Storm Jeanne, an
Argentine soldier was shot in the arm Saturday night after protesters
shouted abuse at visiting leaders of Haiti's U.S.-backed government,
accusing them of not doing enough to help.
   Heavy gunfire erupted in Port-au-Prince on Saturday as about 150
Brazilian troops in armored vehicles and 150 Haitian police in trucks
rolled into the volatile slum of Bel Air, where armed young men have
barricaded themselves behind torched vehicles and bonfires, demanding the
return of Aristide from exile in South Africa.
   A Brazilian soldier was wounded in the foot, the first casualty among
some 3,000 Brazilian-led peacekeepers, U.N. spokesman Toussaint
Kongo-Doudou said. He said it appeared some gunmen were wounded.
   The clashes came a day after the beheaded bodies of a father and son
were found in the Port-au-Prince slum of La Saline.
   The government has blamed Aristide supporters for the violence in
Port-au-Prince, saying they are behind a campaign called "Operation
Baghdad" and the recent beheadings of three police officers and others.
   At least 26 people have been killed in violence that erupted as Aristide
supporters stepped up protests Sept. 30, demanding his return and an end to
"the invasion" -- referring to U.S. Marines who arrived as Aristide left
and U.N. peacekeepers who took over in June.
   The U.S. State Department has warned Americans not to travel to the
Caribbean country except for emergencies, citing "serious risks."
   Aristide supporters blame the violence on anti-Aristide gunmen and
police they say opened fire on unarmed protesters. They also criticize
interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue for not disarming rebels whom
Latortue has hailed as liberators.
   But on Saturday, the gunmen turned their wrath on him.
   "If the government doesn't take responsibility for things here, then we
will. Remember, it was Gonaives that got rid of Aristide," rebel fighter
Wilfort Ferdinand told hundreds of onlookers after a memorial Mass in the
northwestern city of Gonaives. The rebels' three-week rebellion forced
Aristide to flee the country Feb. 29.
   On Sunday, a group of men sneaked into the U.N. base at a college campus
in Gonaives and stole some clothes and bedsheets, officials said. Jordanian
police chased away the men, who had entered from the sparsely guarded rear
section of the compound, which is being used as a temporary base for dozens
of troops and U.N. medics.
   After dark Saturday, civilians fired into the air and smashed rocks into
a vehicle carrying four people from Doctors Without Borders, the agency's
coordinator Sophie Nasserre said. The workers screeched off, smashed into a
nearby truck but managed to escape on foot, she said.
   "We can't continue to work like this when humanitarian workers who don't
even have food are attacked like this," she said. "People are being too
aggressive."
   An estimated 200,000 people are homeless in Gonaives, many living on
sidewalks and rooftops, and thousands remain hungry despite a massive
international humanitarian effort. Peacekeepers have fired into the air to
stop riots at food distributions.
   The storm unleashed floods and mudslides that killed at least 1,870 and
left some 884 missing, most presumed dead.
   ----
   Associated Press writer Stevenson Jacobs in Gonaives contributed to this
report.