UN troops surround Aristide's former residence in Haiti

Several hundred UN troops deployed in Haiti and local police on Thursday surrounded the residence of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, which was occupied Wednesday by about 50 Haitian ex-soldiers.

Haitian acting President Boniface Alexandre and Prime Minister Gerard Latortue termed as illegal the occupation of the residence,and warned that the rebels must leave the estate, according to reports from Port-au-Prince, capital of Haiti.

"The transitional government will take all necessary steps to put an end to this intolerable situation with the assistance of the ... UN stabilization force," the government said in a statement issued through the UN peacekeeping mission.

However, the ex-soldiers refused to abandon the compound at thelocality of Tabarre, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, accordingto their spokesman, Ravix Remissainthe.

He said that the new Haitian authorities have not met the demand of the demobilized troops after the oust of Aristide in February.

The members of the United Nations Mission for the Stabilizationof Haiti (MINUSTAH) have evacuated people living near the residence of the ex-president in view of the possibility of a shootout.

According to a spokesman for the UN force, there are no plans to storm the compound and they are waiting for a team of government negotiators to arrive.

Source: Xinhua