Hundreds of Brazilian
soldiers and special units of the Haitian National
Police stormed the pro-Aristide neighborhood of Bel
Air in the early morning hours of January 5. Residents
were surprised and frightened by the armed incursion
as gunfire broke out. Witnesses reported that five
persons were killed as the operation unfolded.

January 7, 2005

UN occupies Haiti slum
Haiti Information Project (HIP)

Port au Prince, Haiti (HIP) – Hundreds of Brazilian
soldiers and special units of the Haitian National
Police stormed the pro-Aristide neighborhood of Bel
Air in the early morning hours of January 5. Residents
were surprised and frightened by the armed incursion
as gunfire broke out. Witnesses reported that five
persons were killed as the operation unfolded.

Bel Air is a slum in the capital of Port au Prince
that has served as a launching site for demonstrations
demanding the return of President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide. Aristide was ousted last February 29th amid
charges he was kidnapped by U.S. Marines and remains
in exile in the Republic of South Africa. The Bel Air
slum had been under siege by police since violence
erupted last September 30th after police opened fire
on unarmed demonstrators.

Following the military operation, UN peacekeepers were
seen providing photo opportunities to the press as
they fixed a few water pipes and cleared the carcasses
of burned out vehicles blocking the road. One resident
who refused to give their name fearing reprisals
stated, “Do you think we want to live like this? We
are more afraid of the police coming in here and
killing everyone than we are of the rats and the
garbage. Those wrecked cars were our security because
it stopped the police from coming in here at night and
shooting us. Now that the UN has opened the door for
them we don’t know what is going to happen to us. Look
what they did in Cite de Dieux yesterday.