24653: (news) Chamberlain: Haiti-UN Raid

[sak-pase@bimini.ws]

Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>


  By STEVENSON JACOBS

  PORT-AU-PRINCE, April 4 (AP) -- U.N. troops battled street gangs in
firefights near a lawless Haitian slum, the latest in a series of clashes
between peacekeepers and armed groups that some fear could disrupt fall
elections.
  At least five gang members wounded or killed in the gunfight late Sunday
in the Port-au-Prince slum of Cite Soleil, soldiers said. But U.N. military
spokesman Lt. Col. Elouafi Boulbars could not immediately confirm the
casualties. No U.N. peacekeepers were hurt, he said.
  Peruvian peacekeepers were patrolling the western edge of Cite Soleil
when armed men in four cars opened fire, Boulbars said. Troops returned
fire and chased the cars through the slum, a hotbed of gang violence
between supporters and opponents of ousted President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide.
  "We destroyed two of their vehicles and badly damaged the other two, but
they were able to escape," Boulbars said.
  The clash was the fiercest since peacekeepers first surrounded Cite
Soleil on Thursday as part of a promised crackdown on violence that has
surged in the capital more than a year after an uprising ousted Aristide.
  More than 400 people have died since September in clashes involving pro-
and anti-Aristide gangs, ex-soldiers who helped depose Aristide, police and
peacekeepers.
  Troops and Haitian police remain on the perimeter of Cite Soleil, poised
to advance into its gritty heart where young men armed with AK-47s and
drinking beer roamed in plain sight Friday. A gang member with a revolver
stopped a carload of journalists before allowing them to enter, indicating
gangs still control much of the area.
  The 7,400-member Brazil-led U.N. force has vowed to confront armed
groups after being criticized for inaction during its 10-month-old
peacekeeping mission. Officials fear escalating violence could undermine
public trust in general elections set for October and November.
  Earlier this month, two peacekeepers were killed when U.N. troops fought
bands of armed ex-soldiers in two rural towns -- the first peacekeepers
killed in clashes since their mission began. Two former soldiers also died.
  Experts say disarming the gangs in the winding streets of Cite Soleil
will be far more difficult for the peacekeepers than dealing with former
soldiers -- bands of aging, loosely organized men armed with rusty rifles.