23574: (Chamberlain) More Haiti peacekeepers by end Nov, UN envoy says (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     By Joseph Guyler Delva

     PORT-AU-PRINCE, Oct 22 (Reuters) - The U.N. peacekeeping force in
Haiti should reach its full strength of more than 8,000 soldiers and police
by the end of November, the United Nations special envoy to Haiti said on
Friday.
     Brazil, head of the peacekeeping force authorized by the United
Nations after an armed rebellion in February forced then-president
Jean-Bertrand Aristide from power, said last week reinforcements are needed
urgently to cope with surging violence in the impoverished Caribbean
country.
     The U.N. force has around 3,000 soldiers, a fraction of the 6,700
troops and 1,622 police in the original mandate. The U.N. mission took over
from a U.S.-led multinational force that moved into Haiti following
Aristide's departure.
     "By the end of November we expect to have 6,200 members of the
military mission and we will reach a number of about 2,400 international
police," U.N. Haiti envoy Juan Gabriel Valdes told Reuters, citing a total
figure slightly higher than the mandate of about 8,400.
     "I think at that point we will be able to begin some very important
efforts, particularly in disarmament," he said.
     Disarmament of Aristide loyalists and of former Haiti soldiers who
helped lead the bloody rebellion has been a troublesome issue for the
foreign troops now providing security in some parts of the country.
     Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, has been beset by violence in recent
weeks. More than 50 people have been killed during an uprising by Aristide
supporters demanding his return from exile in South Africa.
     The poorest country in the Americas, Haiti is also grappling with
September floods triggered by Tropical Storm Jeanne that killed about 3,000
people, mostly in the northern city of Gonaives, and previous floods in May
that also killed around 3,000 on the Dominican border.
     The political unrest prompted the International Monetary Fund to
postpone talks next week on post-conflict financial aid to Haiti.
     Valdes lamented the IMF decision, saying the recent violence is
confined to specific areas of the capital and Haiti is safe for visiting
delegations.
     "I am frustrated with the decisions that have been taken to suspend
trips in this situation," he said.