Anti-U.N. violence hampers cholera relief effort in Haiti
Top story: Widespread and increasingly violence protests against U.N. peacekeepers in Haiti, who are blamed by many for starting the country's deadly cholera outbreak, are hampering efforts to fight spread of the disease. The U.N. has canceled flights carrying soap and other medical supplies to the hard-hit cities of Cap-Haitien and Port-de-Paix because of violence in the country's North. Oxfam and the World Health Organization have also been forced to cancel water chlorination projects.
With the death toll passing 1,000, Haitian President Rene Preval has appealed for calm. In Cap-Haitien, the country's second-largest city, protesters erected flaming barricades, burned a police station, and clashed with U.N. troops. At least one protester has been killed in the violence. The capital city of Port-au-Prince is still calm but there are worries the unrest could spread.
The protesters blame U.N. troops for introducing the virus. The claim is supported by some experts, who note that the virus is a South Asian strain, not native to Haiti. The U.N. mission in the country charges that the protests are a politically motivated effort to disrupt the country ahead of national elections on Nov. 28. Medical authorities in the country say they are, for the most part, focusing on preventing the continued spread of the disease rather than pinpointing its origin.
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-By Joshua Keating |  |
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