4 Killed in Haiti as Ex-Soldiers Riot in Demand for Back Pay

Scores of discharged soldiers stormed into army headquarters Monday to demand back pay, prompting gunfights that left four people dead and at least four wounded.

When the shooting erupted, U.S. soldiers in the Haiti occupation force surrounded the building.

A U.S. Army source said American military police exchanged fire with the ex-soldiers, who apparently were supported by some active-duty colleagues.

It’s unclear how many, if any, of those shot were hit by the U.S. soldiers.

President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who has slashed the size of the repressive army that ousted him from 6,000 to 1,500 since his return in October, went on private Radio Metropole to appeal for calm.

U.S. soldiers had the situation under control about two hours after the violence erupted, and arrested at least a dozen people in the headquarters parking lot.

The army is widely hated in Haiti for its years of brutal rule. During the standoff, hundreds of people massed on the plaza in front of the building, and, referring to the arrested ex-soldiers, chanted “Kill them! Kill them!”