US gives Haiti $ 20 million, seeks longer UN mission

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) The United States said it will give Haiti 20 million dollars to create jobs in a volatile slum and called for the UN peace-keeping force in the impoverished Caribbean nation to be extended for a year.

US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns said the United States would give Haiti million to help create jobs in Cite Soleil, a Port-au-Prince shantytown run by warring gangs and so overcrowded some residents sleep in shifts.

Speaking to reporters after a Haiti ''contact group'' meeting that gathered officials from 15 nations and seven international organisations, Burns also told reporters there was unanimity among the group to push for a 12-month extension of the UN military mission in Haiti, whose mandate expires on February. 15.

''The presence of that mission is essential for stability and peace and to deter crime in Haiti and to renew it for anything less than 12 months would not be right,'' Burns said yesterday, saying the force could continue at its current levels.

The United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti had nearly 8,400 uniformed personnel at the end of last year, including 6,684 troops and 1,692 police, according to UN figures.

UN Security Council diplomats say China initially opposed renewal of the UN mission in Haiti because of Haitian ties to Taiwan, but has since relented. However, China continues to argue for limiting any extension to six months, arguing the Council should keep a closer eye on its peacekeeping missions.

The UN force has been in Haiti since shortly after former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted in an armed rebellion in February 2004.

Politically motivated violence appears to have eased since President Rene Preval, regarded by the country's poor as their champion, was elected almost a year ago. But poverty, joblessness and the drug trade fuel widespread crime.

REUTERS SBA RK0813