Supporters of democratically elected President Aristide are under attack by U.S., Canada supported Haitian police and are preparing for UN attack.

October 2, 2004

Haiti slum under siege

Haiti Information Project (HIP)

Port au Prince,Haiti (HIP)– A slum in the capital is
under siege from the Haitian National Police (HNP)
following three days of violence and unrest. Heavily
armed units of the HNP attempted to enter the slum of
Bel Air at 9:00 p.m. last night and were met with
armed resistance. Shots could be heard throughout the
area for several hours as residents fought a pitched
battle with the police who were forced to withdraw
under heavy fire.

Bel Air is a slum in the capital of Port au Prince
that has served as a launching site for recent
demonstrations commemorating the thirteenth
anniversary of the 1991 military coup against
Jean-Bertrand Aristide. On September 30th the police
opened fire on unarmed demonstrators provoking an
attack against a unit of the Unite de Securite
Presidentielle (U.S.P), a special security detail
assigned to Interim President Boniface Alexandre.
Members of the special police unit were seen firing on
demonstrators and collecting bodies before masked
gunmen returned fire killing three and wounding a
fourth who later died in the hospital.

Residents of Bel Air claim that six persons were
wounded and one killed during last night’s police
raid. There are no reports of casualities from the
police who have yet to acknowledge the nighttime raid.
Partisans of Aristide’s Lavalas political party, who
are calling for his return following his forced ouster
on February 29th, stated they are preparing for
further actions by the police and the possibility of
UN troops being used against them in Bel Air.