Haitian gunmen slaughter six people and injure 34

GUNMEN opened fire on an opposition rally in Haiti yesterday, killing at least six people, including a journalist, and wounding 34 more, as Haitians awaited the naming of a government.

US and French forces, helping police with security during Sunday’s demonstration, moved onto the lawn of the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince.

“The Haitian National Police, as well as French forces and US marines, responded to gunshots by sending a quick reaction force,” said Staff Sergeant Timothy Edwards, a US military spokesman.

Gunshots were heard at the square and appeared to come from within the crowd, while gunmen opened fire on protesters and journalists a few hundred metres away.

An angry crowd forced a group of police officers to fire back.

A journalist with Spanish channel Antena 3, Ricardo Ortega, died of gunshot wounds, while US journalist Michael Laughlin of the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Sun-Sentinel newspaper was hit in the shoulder. Some 34 people were reported wounded.

Demonstrators promptly dispersed, many running from the square, after the shooting, which began as the rally was breaking up. They blamed the violence on supporters of ex-president Jean Bertrand Aristide and vented their anger on security forces for failing to prevent the violence.

As the multinational force made its presence known in Haiti, the government Aristide left behind and the political opposition have moved closer to meeting the requirements of an internationally backed power-sharing proposal.

A council of seven “wise men” formed on Friday by government, opposition and international representatives said that they would announce their choice for a new prime minister later today.