Haiti May Get More U.N. Forces

U.N. Security Council members said they would look favorably on Haiti’s request for more international police as they wrapped up a four-day visit Saturday.

The council, on its first official visit to any Latin American or Caribbean country, came to assess the United Nations mission in Haiti nearly 14 months after President Jean-Bertrand Aristide fled to exile in Africa.

The council pressed Haiti’s interim government to hold elections in November as planned and to take a more aggressive stand against the gangs terrorizing parts of the country.

During the council’s visit, a peacekeeper from the Philippines was fatally shot Thursday in the Cite Soleil neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. The next day, U.N. soldiers and Haitian police struck back, killing as many as 10 gunmen in Cite Soleil.

The operation was part of a more aggressive stance the U.N. force has taken in recent weeks to stem violence. At least 650 Haitians have been killed since September, human rights groups say.

Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue told the ambassadors that his government would “absolutely” hold elections on time but said more international police would help ensure security during the campaign.

Brazil’s U.N. ambassador, Ronaldo Sardenberg, said the Security Council would pay attention to Haiti’s views when the U.N. mission came up for renewal in May.

“I think this will have a very good impact on our efforts to adopt a new resolution for enlarging or expanding the mandate” of the peacekeepers, he said.

There are now about 1,400 international police in Haiti, along with 6,200 U.N. soldiers.