Marines Kill Two Haitians in Gun Battle

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – U.S. Marines shot and killed two gunmen who opened fire on them, a spokesman said Wednesday, bringing to four the number of Haitians to die this week at the hands of the peacekeepers.

The Marines were patrolling Tuesday evening near the private residence of outgoing Prime Minister Yvon Neptune when they came under “hostile fire,” Staff Sgt. Timothy Edwards told The Associated Press.

He said they then shot and killed at least two gunmen. No peacekeepers were wounded.

U.S. Southern Command spokesman Raul Duany said the gunmen were shooting from a rooftop near the prime minister’s residence.

Both Duany and U.S. Maj. Richard Crusan said the bodies of the alleged gunmen were never recovered and they could not immediately confirm the deaths. Edwards didn’t say how he knew two gunmen had been killed.

In a separate incident, Crusan said several people got out of a car late Tuesday and fired on Marines, who shot back. Three people then fled on foot, Crusan said.

A body was still on the sidewalk early Wednesday near where the shooting occurred, but Crusan and others refused to say whether that person was involved.

On Sunday, Marines killed an alleged gunman who opened fire on a demonstration, and on Monday they killed a driver speeding toward a checkpoint.

The Defense Department has said the Marines acted within their orders to fire when they felt threatened.

The approximately 1,600 U.S. forces in Haiti have a limited set of circumstances under which they can use deadly force. They cannot stop looting, even of U.S. companies, nor can they stop Haitian-on-Haitian violence, officials said.

The shooting came as peacekeepers tried to begin disarming the general population, a potentially volatile move after weeks of bloodshed. There was little evidence of peacekeeper disarmament early Wednesday.

U.S. Col. Charles Gurganus said peacekeepers would work with Haitian police on the disarmament program. He urged Haitians to tell peacekeepers who has weapons and to turn in any arms, but he gave few details of how the program will work.

Rebel groups and supporters of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide have threatened violence if weapons aren’t taken away from their enemies.

Since U.S. and French peacekeepers arrived a week ago, there has been confusion over who is in charge of disarming groups. On Monday, Gurganus said disarming rebels was not part of the peacekeepers’ mission, but he indicated that could change if police asked for help.

Many Aristide supporters were angry over Tuesday’s selection of Gerard Latortue as the new prime minister. Latortue, who lives in Miami and has been critical of Aristide, was scheduled to arrive in Haiti later Wednesday.

“He doesn’t understand the reality of the country,” said Jacques Pierre, an Aristide supporter. “He doesn’t understand our hunger.”

Latortue, a former U.N. official and foreign minister, faces the difficult task of helping to restore peace following a monthlong insurgency that helped drive Aristide from power Feb. 29.

“I can facilitate the national reconciliation,” Latortue told The Miami Herald. “It is the most important thing today in Haiti after all the divisions we had in Aristide.”

Aristide fled to exile in the Central African Republic after rebels seized control of half the country, sparking a frenzy of looting and violence. More than 400 people have died in the rebellion and reprisal killings.

Aristide insists he is still president, having been forced out by the U.S. government. Washington denied the allegations.

His lawyers said they were preparing cases accusing authorities in the United States and France of abducting him and forcing him into exile.

In the United States, “there are preparations for a kidnapping case against the American authorities,” Brian Concannon said in Paris after meeting with Aristide in Africa. Concannon did not elaborate.

Another U.S. lawyer for Aristide, Ira Kurzban, has asked Attorney General John Ashcroft for a Justice Department investigation into the circumstances of Aristide’s departure.

Aristide has been staying in the presidential palace in Bangui, Central African Republic, since March 1. A delegation of South African officials arrived Wednesday for talks about his long-term asylum plans, Central African Republic officials said.

After five days of private meetings, a seven-member council settled on Latortue, who also served as an international business consultant in Miami.

Latortue and interim President Boniface Alexandre will work toward organizing elections and building a new government. Under Aristide, the prime minister’s position was largely ceremonial, but Latortue will be a powerbroker and has the potential of carrying enough weight to smooth political divisions.

CIA Director George J. Tenet warned that “a humanitarian disaster or mass migration remains possible” in Haiti.

“A cycle of clashes and revenge killings could easily be set off, given the large number of angry, well-armed people on both sides,” he told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. “Improving security will require the difficult task of disarming armed groups and augmenting and retraining a national security force.”

Aristide was elected on promises to champion the poor, who make up the vast majority of Haiti’s 8 million people. But he has lost support, with Haitians saying he failed to improve their lives, condoned corruption and used police and armed supporters to attack political opponents.