28045: (news) Chamberlain: Haiti-Guards Killed (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, March 2 (AP) -- Two Haitian security guards employed by
the U.S. Embassy were shot to death near the American ambassador's official
residence, the embassy said Thursday.
   The men had finished their shifts and were traveling home separately
when they were attacked Wednesday night in the upscale Port-au-Prince
neighborhood of Bourdon, the embassy said in a statement. Their bodies were
found a few feet apart early Thursday.
   "We will spare no effort to identify and apprehend the individual or
individuals responsible for this heinous act," the embassy said, adding
that it was working with Haitian and U.N. police.
   The area includes the official home of the U.S. ambassador, but the
embassy declined to say if the guards had been posted there before the
shooting. Diplomats from several other countries and the United Nations
also live in the neighborhood of heavily guarded villas and homes.
   No motive was given for the killings, which came amid a relatively calm
period after Feb. 7 presidential elections won by Rene Preval.