Haiti: 3 dead in protests against fuel prices

Associated Press
PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI.- Three people were killed on Friday during demonstrations against the Haitian government’s decision to increase fuel prices. Journalists saw the bodies of two protesters who were shot in the Delmas area of Port-au-Prince during clashes with the police.

It was not clear who shot the man. The third death was of a security guard of a former political candidate who was arrested at a barricade. The guard left his vehicle and shot in the air apparently to try to disperse the crowd.

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A reporter for The Associated Press saw the crowd capture the man as he fled the bullets, hit him and turn on his body while the vehicle was leaving. The Haitian government suspended a fuel price hike Saturday after widespread violence broke out across the capital and in the northern city of Cap-Haitien.

Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant had originally said the country needed to raise prices to balance the budget and gave no indication he would back down. But his administration bowed to pressure after demonstrators took to the streets in protest.

A journalist from The Associated Press reported seeing several hundred people on Saturday attack a Best Western Premiere hotel in Petion-Ville, one of the capital’s wealthiest neighborhoods.
Guests were forced to remain inside as rocks were hurled through windows around 10 a.m. local time. Security manned the building, but rioters shattered the main entrance before moving to another hotel. At one point they attempted to set a gas station on fire but were held off by police.