Haiti cholera clashes reach capital Port-au-Prince

LONDON. November 19. KAZINFORM Protests linked to the outbreak of cholera in Haiti have spread to parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince; Kazinform refers to BBC News.
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Police fired tear gas as demonstrators set up barricades and threw rocks at United Nations vehicles. On Monday, clashes between residents and UN troops in the north had left two people dead.

Some Haitians blame UN peacekeepers from Nepal for bringing cholera to the country - a claim denied by the UN.

US health experts say Haiti is vulnerable to further outbreaks.

Sporadic gunfire could be heard on Thursday as protesters took to the streets of Port-au-Prince, which was devastated by a massive earthquake in January.

Hundreds of youths erected barricades of burning tyres and attacked vehicles belonging to the UN mission (Minustah).

The protesters shouted slogans like: "Cholera: It's Minustah who gave it to us!" and "Minustah go home!"

Cholera is present in all 10 of Haiti's regions. About 1,100 people have died from the disease since it emerged in the country last month.

Most of the 38 deaths recorded in the capital have been in the slum district of Cite Soleil.

The unrest comes less than two weeks before a presidential election, due on 28 November.

Officials from both the UN and the Haitian government have said described the protests as politically motivated, accusing unnamed groups of taking advantage of the situation to try to disrupt the election; Kazinform cites BBC News.

See www.bbc.co.uk for full version

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