Haitian Police Recapture National Palace After Coup Attempt

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, December 18, 2001

Haitian Police Recapture National Palace After Coup Attempt

Commandos seized Haiti's National Palace in a coup attempt Monday, killing four people before police retook the building. Three others, including one of the attackers, died as violence spread.

Commandos seized Haiti's National Palace in a coup attempt Monday, killing four people before police retook the building. Three others, including one of the attackers, died as violence spread.

Government supporters armed with machetes and sticks struck back by burning the homes and offices of opposition leaders.

President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his wife were unharmed in their home in Tabarre, about three miles from the palace, said National Palace spokesman Jacques Maurice.

Monday's violence prompted the U.S. Embassy to close its doors and urge Americans in Haiti to stay at home. Airlines canceled flights to the impoverished Caribbean nation.

Aristide was first elected president in 1990 and stayed in power only eight months before the army ousted him in a coup that began Sept. 30, 1991. He was restored to power in 1994 by U.S. troops, but a term limit forced him to step down in 1996 and he was replaced by his protege, Rene Preval. Aristide began his second term in February.

Aristide has accused the international community of "economic terrorism" in suspending aid. France has been among donors withholding aid over disputed elections last year.

American Airlines canceled its five flights to Port-au-Prince on Monday and morning flights on Tuesday.

Since Aristide's Lavalas Family party swept parliamentary and local elections in May 2000, Haiti has been mired in unrest, with the opposition calling the elections fraudulent and foreign donors refusing to release hundreds of millions of dollars in aid until results are revised.

There has also been mounting grass-roots opposition to Aristide within his party. Protesters have accused Aristide of failing to deliver on promises of basic services, such as sanitation and electricity.

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