Fresh violence erupts in Haiti

Mar. 23, 2004. 03:43 PM

CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti (AP) — Police and former rebels held emergency talks today after gunfire erupted within 48 hours of the return of police to Cap-Haitien, a strategic port city claimed by rebels during the insurgency that ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Late Monday, shots rang out in front of a charred police station manned by rebels and by a hillside hotel rebels used as a headquarters after they seized this strategic northern port city Feb. 22.

Neither side admitted to firing the shots.

The dispute underscores the challenges in Haiti's north, where rebels have stepped in to fill the void in law enforcement. During the insurgency, many police and government workers fled their posts fearing reprisal attacks.

"There are some problems between factions of the police and rebels right now but we're trying to work out these misunderstandings," said Renan Etienne, the city's new police chief and director of police in the country's northern departments.

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