Jordanian UN peacekeeper shot to death in Haiti

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
A Jordanian soldier serving as a peacekeeper for the United Nations in Haiti was shot to death while on patrol, a UN military spokesman said Sunday. The soldier was on patrol Saturday in the Cite Soleil slum when he was shot in the head and killed, according to Lt. Col. Fernando da Cunha Mattos, a UN military spokesman. The soldiers name was being withheld pending notification of next of kin. UN authorities declined to release further details. Haitian police do not enter the slum. A battalion of 1,500 Jordanian peacekeepers in armored vehicles has pledged to reclaim the area from the gangs. Jordan has about 1,500 troops in the UN force of almost 7,600 peacekeepers. The peacekeepers arrived in Haiti in June 2004 to stabilize the country after the February 29, 2004 ouster of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Seven peacekeepers have died in action since June 2004, according to the UN.