UN aid convoy attacked in northern Haiti

Homeless Haitians accuse police of blocking aid
Port-Au-Prince (AFP) Feb 22, 2010 - Haitians living at a camp on the grounds of the prime minister's office accused police Monday of blocking aid and beating a woman there, but police officers denied the allegations and gave a different account. Some Haitians living at the camp since last month's massive earthquake claimed police were blocking relief aid from entering to force them to move, while others said the police officers were keeping the supplies for their own families. Several camp residents also said police beat a woman who did not respond promptly to their calls. The 22-year-old woman also told AFP she was hit. "They hit me with their weapons. There were plenty of fists," she said, adding that her back was hurt and one finger was bandaged. She said four police officers took part in the beating. A police officer who would not give his name said the woman in the morning had tried to enter the courtyard near Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive's office to bathe and was dressed "indecently." Police had been informed that Bellerive was on his way to the office, he said. When an officer tried to stop her, she slapped him, the police officer said. They then restrained her, he said, refusing to say how. As for blocking or taking relief aid, police officers denied they had done so, adding that their families were also at the same camp with the others. Hundreds of people have been living at the mekeshift camp since the January 12 quake that killed more than 200,000 people and left 1.2 million homeless.

by Staff Writers
Port-Au-Prince (AFP) Feb 22, 2010
A UN aid convoy destined for victims of Haiti's massive earthquake was attacked in the country's north Monday and some supplies were taken, but no one was injured, officials and a witness said.

"The convoy comprising full containers of food kits escorted by the UN was attacked by several hundred people who threw rocks at the vehicles and demanded aid," a teacher who witnessed the incident in the town of Limbe said.

Some of the food was taken, according to the witness, while a police official said UN troops agreed to distribute milk to the crowd in Limbe, near Haiti's second city of Cap-Haitien.

The police commissioner for the area, Augustin Dumercy, said the incident occurred when residents blocked the convoy from leaving Limbe.

"People tried to take the products by blocking the exit from the town for the convoy with five trailers of products," he said.

Police did not make any arrests, he said.

"After discussions with the Chilean UN troops who were escorting the convoy, milk crates were distributed to the people, who fought amongst themselves by throwing rocks," he said.

There were no reports of injuries, he said.

Haiti's north was mostly unscathed in last month's earthquake that devastated the capital Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, killing more than 200,000 and leaving 1.2 million homeless.

earlier related report
EU wants 'Marshall Plan' for quake-hit Haiti: Ashton
Brussels (AFP) Feb 22, 2010 - The EU's foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton called on Monday for a "Marshall Plan" for Haiti, announcing she would head to the quake-hit island next week.

"We have to develop something like a Marshall Plan for Haiti," Ashton told a press conference after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

Underlining that European support for the island was unwavering, Ashton said she would make her first trip to Port-au-Prince "next week."

The US Marshall Plan was drawn up to help reconstruction in Europe after World War II.

European aid following the Haiti quake has reached 609 million euros (828 million dollars) from both EU and national coffers.

Europe's current focus is on providing shelter for the homeless.

Ashton had been criticised in Brussels for not heading out to Haiti soon after last month's quake hit.

The death toll from Haiti's January 12 earthquake could reach 300,000, Haitian President Rene Preval said in an appeal for international aid at a summit of Caribbean leaders in Mexico.

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