26825: Wharram (news) Peacekeepers Likely Tied to Haiti Shooting (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

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

 ABC News
Peacekeepers Likely Tied to Haiti Shooting
U.N. Acknowledges Likely Involvement of Peacekeepers in Shooting of Car Full
of Haiti Police Officers
By ALFRED de
The Associated Press

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti Dec. 8, 2005 - The United Nations acknowledged
Thursday that its peacekeepers likely opened fire on a car full of Haitian
police officers this week, wounding two.

According to a preliminary investigation, five uniformed officers were
driving toward a U.N. checkpoint on Monday when the peacekeepers opened
fire, said U.N. spokesman Damian Onses-Cardona. He showed reporters
photographs of the blue car, which had official license plates but no other
markings.

"The first elements of the investigation tend to show that U.N. peacekeepers
could have done the shooting," Onses-Cardona said.

Peacekeepers may have confused the police with armed gang members whom they
are fighting to gain control of the seaside slum of Cite Soleil,
Onses-Cardona said.

Cite Soleil, where gunbattles between peacekeepers and gangs take place
almost daily, remains the most insecure place in Haiti ahead of national
elections scheduled for Jan. 8.

Haitian police do not enter the slum, which a battalion of 1,500 Jordanian
peacekeepers in armored vehicles has pledged to reclaim from the gangs.

One of the two wounded Haitian police officers remained hospitalized in
stable condition Thursday.

"Even though this incident is appalling, the tight collaboration between
U.N. peacekeepers and Haitian police will continue," Onses-Cardona said. The
two forces currently are studying a joint plan to combat kidnappings, which
have surged in areas near Cite Soleil, he said.

Meanwhile, representatives of Haiti and the European Union Thursday signed
an $88 million deal for road-building and repair grants.

The aid will go to building about 60 miles of new roads, mainly in Haiti's
north and near the neighboring Dominican Republic.

Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue said he hopes the improvements will
help reduce the hundreds of deadly accidents each year on Haiti's crumbling
roads.

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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