29787: (news) Chamberlain: Haiti-Peacekeepers (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, Jan 5 (AP) -- U.N. troops and local police raided a slum
in Haiti's capital Friday and arrested an alleged gang member wanted in the
slaying of two Jordanian peacekeepers, the U.N. mission said.
   No shots were fired during the pre-dawn operation in Port-au-Prince's
Cite Soleil slum, a base for well-armed gangs blamed for a spate of
kidnappings and shooting deaths, the mission said in a statement.
   An alleged gang member identified only as Zachari was captured and
turned over to Haitian police for the Nov. 10 killing of the Jordanians,
who were driving back to base when their jeep came under heavy gunfire.
   A suspected kidnapper also was arrested in the raid.
   The U.N. mission said Zachari directed kidnappings for the feared
Beloney gang, which authorities allege is behind a wave of recent
abductions for ransom.
   In December, U.N. troops and Haitian police raided Cite Soleil and
killed five people in the peacekeeping mission's bloodiest crackdown in
months.
   U.N. troops have announced plans to increase patrols next week to
prevent kidnappers from targeting children returning to school after the
Christmas holiday.
   The 8,800-strong U.N. force arrived in July 2004 to restore order in the
Caribbean nation after a chaotic uprising toppled former President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti's first democratically elected leader.
   Fourteen peacekeepers have died since the mission began, including six
Jordanians.