UN mission routs members of armed gang in Haiti

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti, tipped off about the presence of armed men in a poor district of the country's capital, mounted a security operation that resulted in the deaths of six gang members, the wounding of four and the arrest of 13, as well as the freeing of a kidnap victim.

The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) carried out the operation in the Bel-Air district of Port-au-Prince at first light yesterday, after the mission got credible information about the armed men, the mission's military spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Boulbars Elouafi, said.

The Brazilian and Chinese troops who carried out the raid seized armaments, munitions and communication equipment and turned over the 13 they arrested to the Haitian National Police (HNP), he said.

The person abducted on Tuesday in Port-au-Prince was an international employee of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, the spokesman said.