24636: Lemieux (pub) UN force patrolling edge of Haiti slum

[sak-pase@bimini.ws]

JD Lemieux <lxhaiti@yahoo.com>

UN force patrolling edge of Haiti slum
AP    2005-04-02 03:08:22    

PORT-AU-PRINCE -- UN troops in armoured vehicles
patrolled the outskirts of a seaside slum in
Haiti's capital yesterday, a day after encircling
the lawless area ahead of a planned crackdown on
warring gangs some fear could disrupt fall
elections. UN officials say the operation in the
Port-au-Prince slum of Cite Soleil could last
days, but they refuse to say when they might
enter the heart of the vast shantytown, which is
a hotbed of gang violence between loyalists and
opponents of ousted president Jean-Bertrand
Aristide. 

One man was killed Thursday and at least six
others were wounded in gang shootings. 

UN military spokesperson Lt.-Col. Elouafi
Boulbars said Jordanian peacekeepers set up 21
checkpoints at entrances to the slum and were
searching cars and pedestrians for illegal guns.
But reporters visiting the area yesterday saw
units in armoured vehicles making sweeps along
the slum's edge but conducting no searches. 

"We now control the perimeter of the area. Today
we'll progress to some parts inside," Boulbars
said. "One way or another we will cover the whole
district." 

Nearby the slum's seaport where Jordanian troops
maintain a small base, two young men armed with
AK-47s and drinking beer roamed in plain sight as
residents crowded around them. Another gang
member with a revolver stopped a carload of
journalists before allowing them to enter,
indicating gangs still control much of the area. 

The operation, the first major offensive by UN
forces in the capital, comes amid a surge of
violence that has killed hundreds since
September, including two UN peacekeepers. 

The 7,400-strong Brazil-led UN force has vowed to
confront armed groups after being criticized for
inaction more than a year after an uprising
ousted Aristide. Officials fear escalating
violence could undermine public trust in general
elections in October and November. 

Earlier this month, UN troops fought bands of
armed ex-soldiers in two rural towns that left
two peacekeepers dead -- the first peacekeepers
killed in clashes during their 10-month-old
mission. Two ex-soldiers also died. 

Experts say disarming the gangs in the winding
streets of Cite Soleil will be far more difficult
for UN peacekeepers than dealing with the former
soldiers -- bands of aging, loosely organized men
armed with rusty rifles. 

"It's like going into an urban jungle," UN
spokes-person Damian Onses- Cardona said. "You
cannot enter Cite Soleil with tanks. It requires
a more targeted action." 


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