27121: (news) Chamberlain: U.N. commander in Haiti kills himself , UN officials say (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

     By Joseph Guyler Delva

     PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Jan 7 (Reuters) - The commander of a United
Nations peacekeeping force in Haiti shot himself dead on Saturday, U.N.
officials said.
     Brazilian Lt. Gen. Urano Teixeira da Matta Bacellar killed himself in
a room at the Montana hotel in the troubled Caribbean country's capital,
the officials said.
     Few other details were immediately available.
     Teixeira da Matta took over the U.N. peacekeeping force at the end of
August.
     The mission, known by its acronym MINUSTAH, was sent to Haiti to keep
the peace between supporters and foes of former president Jean-Bertrand
Aristide after Aristide was ousted following a monthlong armed revolt in
February 2004.
     But the country of 8.5 million people has continued to be afflicted by
political violence and a wave of kidnappings has swept through
Port-au-Prince despite the presence of around 9,000 Brazilian-led U.N.
troops and police.
     Haiti has also struggled to organize its first presidential election
since Aristide fled into exile. Originally scheduled for November, the
ballot has been repeatedly put off and is now expected to take place in
February.
     Haiti's interim authorities have blamed the U.N. mission and the
Organization of American States for the delays, a charge both organizations
resolutely refute.