Haiti

Haiti's President Rene Preval turned to the international community Tuesday to resolve a tense election stalemate that has imperiled earthquake and cholera relief efforts. Preval asked the Organization of American States to send experts to help with a vote recount and deal with legal challenges arising from the first round of Haiti's presidential elections on November 28, which sparked violent protests.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today appealed for an end to violence in Haiti following the announcement of preliminary election results in a country that has already been ravaged this year by a devastating earthquake and a raging cholera epidemic.

Thousands of protesters rampaged in Haitian towns Wednesday, torching buildings in armed clashes that left four dead, after election results triggered bitter accusations of vote-rigging, witnesses said.

The United Nations has called on Haitians to ignore unofficial results of Sunday’s presidential and legislative elections and to wait for the official results to be announced next Tuesday by the country’s electoral council. … On Monday Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a speedy solution to the political crisis following media reports that 12 of the 18 presidential candidates had repudiated the vote and their supporters mounted protests.

Seven experts in civil protection will travel to Haiti today, to join the efforts against the cholera epidemics. The team is deployed by the Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) of the European Commission.

The Haitian city of Cap Haïtien is now calm after several days of riots linked to the cholera outbreak in the Caribbean country, and two United Nations agencies have resumed relief operations in the city, the world body’s humanitarian arm reported today.

The United Nations mission in Haiti has deplored yesterday’s acts of violence against local and UN security forces during demonstrations in the cities of Cap-Haitien and Hinche, saying the riots, which resulted in several injuries, were politically motivated.

At least one man has been shot dead in clashes with UN peacekeepers in Haiti. UN troops fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators who were throwing stones and blocking roads in Cap Haitien.

Protesters throwing rocks and bottles lashed out against the Haitian government and United Nations peacekeepers in Haiti's second largest city Monday, venting fear and anger over a cholera epidemic that many Haitians believe came from foreigners.

The Security Council today voted to extend the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti until 15 October 2011, while underlining the significance of next month’s presidential and legislative polls in laying the foundation for a stable political environment in the impoverished Caribbean nation.