World IN BRIEF : HAITI : Government Agrees to Observer Force

A U.N. envoy said that the army and military-backed government have agreed to allow international civilian observers in Haiti, a move that may ease the refugee crisis and help usher in a return to democracy. The envoy, Dante Caputo, said he hopes the force can be in place by week’s end. He characterized the agreement as the first step toward ending army repression since soldiers toppled elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in September, 1991. Sixty to 70 observers around the nation will make up the new contingent, a source involved in the negotiations said. Members of Aristide’s negotiating team tempered their hope, noting that the army has repeatedly gone back on pledges to promote democracy since the end of the 1957-86 Duvalier family dictatorship.