Haitian Rebels Outnumber, Outgun Police
Belly down with assault rifles at the ready, rebels hunker down in the hotel lobby, weapons trained on a parking lot where a shot rang out overnight. Guerrillas outnumber and outgun police in Haiti’s second-largest city, a strategic port where humanitarian agencies are relying on French troops and a shaky truce to do their work. “There are some problems … but we’re trying to work out these misunderstandings,” said Renan Etienne, new police chief for northern Haiti. One rebel leader — a convicted assassin — even acts as de facto judge to petty criminals and supporters of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who say bodies are still turning up in the city’s bay. Underscoring the challenges authorities face in a region where rebels still hold sway, police met with rebels in emergency talks Tuesday. Full Story