Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 25, 1994 TAG: 9409260049
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CAP-HAITIEN, HAITI LENGTH: Medium
The sharp, quick firefight in this city on Haiti's northern coast was followed by a long siege outside the station, as the Marines tried to coax out two men believed to be policemen who were wounded in the shooting.
It wasn't clear whether the men killed were police. Many civilian ``attaches'' work alongside Haitian police, which are part of the army.
A U.S. Marine, a Haitian who serves as an interpreter, was wounded in the leg. The injury was not considered serious.
Lt. Col. Steve Hartley, the battalion commander, who arrived on the scene minutes after the firefight, said the platoon from Echo Company on patrol had stopped across the street from the station.
When armed men came out of the station, ``words were exchanged, and there was gunfire,'' Hartley said.
Cpl. Mike Arnett, a member of the platoon, said armed men came out of the police station and opened fire.
``Four guys came out from the front desk, saw us and got spooked and lit up their weapons,'' he said. ``And we returned fire.''
The bodies of eight men remained on the street late Saturday night and were seen by an Associated Press reporter. In Port-au-Prince, U.S. military spokesman Col. Barry Willey said nine Haitians in all were killed in the firefight, which he said the Haitians started.
After the firefight Marine interpreters and Haitian policemen in the station shouted back and forth in the darkness. The Marines were trying to get the two wounded men to surrender.
``Tell them they must come out. Tell them that's the only way they are going to live,'' a Marine officer shouted in the darkness.
``They won't come out, and I'm not going to go in and try to get them in the dark,'' Hartley radioed back to headquarters. Hartley said no attempt would be made to enter the police station before daybreak today.
After tense moments, five other men came out of the station, leaving the two wounded men inside. The five were ordered to lie down and were searched by cautious Marines who removed the prisoners' shoes.
A Marine armored personnel carrier that rushed to support the platoon then turned on its headlights to illuminate the street scene, as Marine riflemen pointed their weapons at the open windows on top floor of the two-story, yellow stucco building.
Civilians ran from the shooting, locking themselves behind shuttered doors and windows. The city's streets became deserted.
Saturday night's incident followed a slow escalation in tension between Marines and Haitian security forces. Marine patrols had been increased and word had come down to the troops of an ``escalation of force,'' giving units more latitude to take action against the Haitian forces.
Elsewhere in Haiti on Saturday, thousands of emboldened Haitians danced through the streets of Port-au-Prince in the biggest pro-democracy demonstration since the elected government was toppled three years ago.
Police fired tear gas at demonstrators marching by the capital's army headquarters, and other protesters stoned police headquarters before being chased away.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB