United Nations peacekeeping troops in Haiti opened fire on demonstrators on Monday near the capital’s international airport, leaving many casualties, according to Haitian police and UN sources.
Police said at least one person was killed in the incident, which came after barriers were erected and protests grew in Port-au-Prince over the results of last Tuesday’s presidential and legislative election.
A UN official, speaking anonymously, said there were ”several dozen” people injured.
Angry crowds on Monday demanded René Préval be declared president and rejected partial results showing the vote would go to a run-off.
Port-au-Prince was paralysed as a growing throng of demonstrators used rocks, car wrecks and burning tyres to block major avenues.
Businesses shut down and some people sought refuge in police stations amid fears of a renewed explosion of violence in the volatile country.
The 9 500-strong UN military and police troops were on high alert. The ”stabilisation” force was deployed after the country plunged into chaos two years ago, when president Jean Bertrand Aristide resigned and fled the country.
Demonstrators rallied in several parts of town and one group gathered outside the offices of the electoral council.
For the third day running, the protesters, chanting ”Préval president,” demanded that the favourite, a champion of the poor, be declared president immediately.
They denounced the partial results as fraudulent, a claim supported by at least one of the candidates.
”I consider Mr Préval won in the first round,” said Jean Chavannes Jeune, who placed fourth with 5% of the vote.
”I am ready to accept Mr Préval’s victory if it is proved that the vote was manipulated,” he said. But he added that he would support Préval if there is a second round.
Another candidate, Serge Gilles, who took sixth place, appealed for calm and urged Haitians to respect the official results. He also said he would support Préval in a second round.
Results out on Monday showed that Préval had 48,7% of the vote, with just less than 90% of the ballots counted.
This placed him well ahead of his rivals, but short of the majority needed to avoid a run-off election. It remained unclear when the final results of the February 7 election would be announced. — AFP
