At least nine killed in Haitian slum raid

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Dec 23 (Reuters) At least nine people were killed in Haiti's largest slum during a raid by security forces targeting armed gangs blamed for a recent surge in kidnappings and other crimes in the capital Port-au-Prince.

It was one of the worst outbreaks of violence yesterday in the chaotic Caribbean country in more than a year and came hours after the UN chief envoy to Haiti, Edmond Mulet, said the government had given the go-ahead for a crackdown on areas controlled by gangs.

About 400 UN soldiers in armored vehicles, backed by Haitian police forces, stormed a district called Bwa Nef in the volatile slum of Cite Soleil in a move to dislodge heavily armed gang members led by a young man known as Belony.

A Reuters photographer counted nine bodies from the clashes that ensued and eyewitnesses counted four others dead.

As many as 30 people were wounded, humanitarian aid workers said.

All of the casualties were believed to be civilians.

''The foreigners came shooting for hours without interruption and killed 10 people,'' Johnny Claircidor, a resident of Bwa Nef, told Reuters. ''Then Belony's gang members started to exchange fire with them'', he said. ''I personally counted 10 bodies,'' Claircidor said.

The spokesperson for the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti, Sophie De la Combe, declined to provide a toll.

''No one was killed or injured on our side, but it's difficult for us to know for now how many bandits could have been killed or wounded,'' said De la Combe.

The UN operation, conducted jointly with the Haitian police, was launched at about 3 am and was led by Brazilian peacekeepers.

''The operation was conducted to address the current insecurity caused by the recent wave of kidnappings in the capital Port-au-Prince,'' said Jean Saint-Fleur, the director of Haiti's Administrative Police.

He too said he was unable to give an official death toll from the Cite Soleil fighting.

''They came here to terrorize the population,'' Rose Martel, a slum dweller, told Reuters, referring to the police and UN troops.

''I don't think they really killed the bandits, unless they consider all of us as bandits,'' she said.

REUTERS PB PM0943