UN peacekeepers move in to clean up and secure poor district in Haiti's capital

More than 200 peacekeepers with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) have carried out an operation to help clean up and make safe a poor suburb of the country's capital.

A contingent of Jordanian peacekeepers began yesterday's operation in Cité Soleil, a low-income neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince, with the help of 14 armoured vehicles, as well as trucks, tractors and water tankers. Peacekeepers from Ecuador and Chile later helped out.

A UN spokesman in New York said the peacekeepers will maintain a visible presence in Cité Soleil to try to deter violence in a neighbourhood long wracked by crime, particularly involving armed gangs, and poverty.

The MINUSTAH troops removed large piles of rubbish that have been obstructing road traffic and presenting a health threat to residents. They also distributed food and water to locals.