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U.N. troops clash with gangs in Haiti

STEVENSON JACOBS

Associated Press

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - U.N. troops battled street gangs in firefights near a lawless Haitian slum, the latest in a series of clashes between peacekeepers and armed groups that some fear could disrupt fall elections.

At least five gang members wounded or killed in the gunfight late Sunday in the Port-au-Prince slum of Cite Soleil, soldiers said. But U.N. military spokesman Lt. Col. Elouafi Boulbars could not immediately confirm the casualties. No U.N. peacekeepers were hurt, he said.

Peruvian peacekeepers were patrolling the western edge of Cite Soleil when armed men in four cars opened fire, Boulbars said. Troops returned fire and chased the cars through the slum, a hotbed of gang violence between supporters and opponents of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

"We destroyed two of their vehicles and badly damaged the other two, but they were able to escape," Boulbars said.

The clash was the fiercest since peacekeepers first surrounded Cite Soleil on Thursday as part of a promised crackdown on violence that has surged in the capital more than a year after an uprising ousted Aristide.

More than 400 people have died since September in clashes involving pro- and anti-Aristide gangs, ex-soldiers who helped depose Aristide, police and peacekeepers.

Troops and Haitian police remain on the perimeter of Cite Soleil, poised to advance into its gritty heart where young men armed with AK-47s and drinking beer roamed in plain sight Friday. A gang member with a revolver stopped a carload of journalists before allowing them to enter, indicating gangs still control much of the area.

The 7,400-member Brazil-led U.N. force has vowed to confront armed groups after being criticized for inaction during its 10-month-old peacekeeping mission. Officials fear escalating violence could undermine public trust in general elections set for October and November.

Earlier this month, two peacekeepers were killed when U.N. troops fought bands of armed ex-soldiers in two rural towns - the first peacekeepers killed in clashes since their mission began. Two former soldiers also died.

Experts say disarming the gangs in the winding streets of Cite Soleil will be far more difficult for the peacekeepers than dealing with former soldiers - bands of aging, loosely organized men armed with rusty rifles.