25521: Wharram - news - U.N. Peacekeepers Kill 6 Gunmen in Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

> From Bruce Wharram <bruce.wharram@sev.org>

ABC News
U.N. Peacekeepers Kill 6 Gunmen in Haiti
U.N. Peacekeepers Kill Six Gunmen in Raids in Haiti Slum Filled With Gangs
Loyal to Aristide
By STEVENSON JACOBS
The Associated Press

Jun. 30, 2005 - Hundreds of U.N. peacekeepers raided a slum filled with
gangs loyal to ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on Wednesday, killing
six gunmen.

In a raid on a house in Bel-Air, a ghetto in the capital of Port-au-Prince,
troops freed a kidnapped woman who was being held bound and blindfolded by
armed men, said U.N. military spokesman Lt. Col. Jorge Smicelapo. The raid
touched off a gunbattle that killed six suspected gang members and injured
five, Smicelapo said. The woman was unharmed.

The Brazilian troops suffered no casualties during the eight-hour offensive,
Smicelapo said.

Local Radio Metropole reported that the kidnapped woman was an employee of
the Haitian Red Cross. Smicelapo could not immediately confirm that report.

About 300 soldiers participated in the operation, one of the biggest U.N.
offensives in weeks against armed gangs accused of waging a campaign of
violence that could undermine elections later this year.

Troops detained 13 suspected criminals and turned them over to Haitian
police, Smicelapo said.

The Brazil-led, 7,400-member peacekeeping force has come under criticism
from Haitian and U.S. officials for not being effective enough in combatting
gangs.

The U.N. Security Council last week agreed to send an additional 1,000
troops and police ahead of elections scheduled for October and November.
Peacekeepers also are creating new rapid- response units to better confront
violence, U.N. officials have said.

More than 700 people have been slain in Haiti since September, when Aristide
supporters stepped up calls for his return from exile in South Africa.

Seven peacekeepers have been killed since the mission began in June 2004,
three during shootouts with pro- and anti-Aristide militants.

Street gangs also have been blamed for a recent surge in kidnappings, mostly
targeting wealthier residents in the capital.

Rising violence prompted the U.S. Peace Corps to evacuate its 16 volunteers
earlier this month, three months after the U.S. Embassy ordered nonessential
personnel to leave. On Tuesday, the embassy announced it was scaling back
consular services because of the violence, and would only offer U.S. entry
visas for students and medical emergencies.

Aristide was ousted in a three-week rebellion in February 2004. His
loyalists accuse U.N. peacekeepers of ignoring police abuse against them,
including summary executions, arbitrary arrests and beatings.

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.
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