24562: (news) Chamberlain: Haiti-Peacekeeper Death

[sak-pase@bimini.ws]

Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>


  PORT-AU-PRINCE, March 25 (AP) -- A U.N. peacekeeper patrolling a rural
Haitian town died after falling through a dock and striking his head on the
rocks in the sea below, officials said Friday.
  The Sri Lankan soldier died Tuesday in coastal Petit-Goave, about 45
miles west of the capital, Port-au-Prince, said Lt. Col. Elouafi Boulbars,
a U.N. military spokesman.
  The soldier was walking along a wooden dock to observe a suspicious boat
when the structure fell apart, Boulbars said. He was the fourth U.N.
peacekeeper to die in Haiti since the U.N. mission began in June 2004.
  On Sunday, U.N. forces sufferded their first fatalities from violence
when two peacekeepers, one Sri Lankan and one Nepalese, died in separate
clashes with armed members of Haiti's disbanded army. Two ex-soldiers also
died. In February, another Nepalese soldier died after a brief stomach
illness.
  The 7,400-strong Brazilian-led U.N. force took over peacekeeping duties
from U.S. Marines in June 2004 after a three-week armed uprising ousted
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The force is struggling to disarm street
gangs, ex-soldiers and other elements ahead of key fall elections.