Thu, Oct 14, 2004 - Page 7 News List

Tensions simmer in Haitian capital

LAWLESSNESS Records show 17 people were killed this week, while supporters of the former president accused UN troops of doing little to halt the violence

AP , PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI

"We have enough food in Gonaives to meet needs for only four or five days," said Abby Maxman, Haiti's CARE director. "We're already cutting back deliveries to conserve the supply, and we might have to consider suspending them if the security situation doesn't improve."

Unrest in the capital also blocked access to the seaport for several days last week, cutting off the major route for UN World Food Program shipments.

UN forces are providing 24-hour security at CARE's warehouse in Gonaives, where street gangs and ordinary civilians have looted aid shipments, as well as escorting large convoys of WFP and CARE trucks, Maxman said. But he said the UN has reduced troop levels there to address rising violence in the capital.

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