"The kidnapping [problem] is not the job of peacekeepers," UN military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Elouafi Boulbars said. "It's the job of the population, civil society and law enforcement."
Haiti's ill-equipped police force is forming a new anti-kidnapping squad, but families of victims are often reluctant to involve police, who are sometimes behind the crimes themselves. Two police officers were detained this week for alleged kidnappings, police spokeswoman Gessy Coicou said.
UN Civilian Police Commissioner David Beer called the violence "an urban war" aimed at "destabilizing the government" ahead of elections scheduled for October and November.
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