Caribbean Net News: Three killed as Haiti rebels seize town

News from the Caribbean as of

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP): Three people died Monday as Haitian rebels seized the central town of Hinche, according to residents and radio reports.

Rebels first attacked the police station in Hinche, 80 miles northeast of the capital and near Haiti's border with the Dominican Republic.

Regional police director Jonas Maxime was among dead, sources in the town said.

Louis Jodel Chamblain, a paramilitary leader under ex-dictator Raoul Cedras, may have led the attack, radio reports said.

Police fled the city and regrouped in Mirebalais, 35 miles to the south, the reports said.

Police commanders in the capital said they had deployed reinforcements to Hinche.

More than 50 people have died since the rebellion broke out on February 5. Insurgents demand the resignation of President Jean Bertrand Aristide.