Thursday, August 17, 2006

UNITED NATIONS, (AFP): The Security Council on Tuesday extended a UN mission to Haiti by six months, with additional police and fewer soldiers.

A resolution adopted unanimously prolongs until February 15, 2007 the UN Mission for the Stabilization of Haiti (MINUSTAH).

The number of UN troops deployed in Haiti will drop to 7,200 from 7,500, while the number of police will grow to 1,951 from 1,897, a rise of 54.

The council also authorized the addition of 16 prison guards "in support of the government of Haiti to address the shortcomings of the prison system."

In his most recent report on Haiti to the Security Council, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan sought a greater police presence in the mission -- specifically 54 criminal experts to grapple with an upsurge in violence that has rocked Haiti.

Haiti has suffered an upsurge of kidnappings and armed attacks, which had begun to trail off after the election of President Rene Preval on February 7.

Some 8,700 soldiers and police from several countries have been in Haiti for two years attempting to restore order unleashed after the ouster of former president Jean Bertrand Aristide on February 29, 2004.

The UN mission has come under heavy criticism from some Haitians as lax and ineffective against crime and violence.

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