Reprinted from Caribbean Net News
caribbeannetnews.com

At least 16 dead in Haiti violence
07-10-2006

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, (AFP): At least 16 people were killed and three injured in a night of fighting between armed groups in the south of Haiti's capital, a United Nations official said Friday.

The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) sent a battalion to the southern Port-au-Prince quarter of Martissant to help calm the situation, and the Haitian national police force also reported sending in its teams.

"While we are not excluding the possibility of other casualties, the military forces found the bodies of 16 victims, and three people wounded, on the spot," MINUSTAH said in a statement.

It was not immediately clear whether the casualties included civilians or members of the rival gangs.

The battle began Thursday evening and stretched into Friday, said Haitian police force spokesman Mario Andresol.

"The police force is aware of the developments and taking measures to control the situation," Andresol said. He had initially put the toll at 15 dead.

It was not clear if the fighting had stopped, and the US State Department issued a travel warning for Haiti, urging US citizens to "carefully consider the risks" while travelling to the Caribbean nation.

The US embassy continued meanwhile to prohibit its staff from entering downtown Port-au-Prince after dark.

Established in 2004 and under Brazilian command, MINUSTAH includes about 7,500 military troops and 2,000 international police.

In February the UN Security Council renewed the mission's mandate in the impoverished Caribbean island nation for at least another six months.

Impoverished Haiti has been plagued by violence and kidnappings in recent years, although MINUSTAH recently announced a drop in abductions.

However, on June 20 police chief Michael Lucius said at least 10 police officers had been gunned down, and two of them decapitated, in the previous two weeks.

Lucius said 47 people had been kidnapped in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan region between late April and early June.

MINUSTAH was deployed in 2004 to stabilize the Caribbean nation following the ouster of former president Jean Bertrand Aristide fled a popular uprising.

In May a new government was sworn in promising to reduce the chronic violence.