- REUTERS
Brazilian commander Lieutenant General Urano Teixeira da Matta Bacellar (left) talks to the departing Brazilian General Augusto Heleno (right) in Port-au-Prince in this August 31, 2005 file photo. Bacellar, the commander of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Haiti, shot himself dead yesterday in a room at the Montana hotel in the troubled Caribbean country's capital, U.N. officials said.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP):
THE BRAZILIAN com-mander of United Nations peacekeeping forces in Haiti was found dead and covered in blood on the balcony of his hotel room yesterday, and Brazil's state news agency said he was the victim of "a firearm accident."
The death of Lt. Gen. Urano Teixeira da Matta Bacellar, who commanded the 7,600-strong peacekeeping force from more than 40 countries, was a blow to this impoverished Caribbean nation, which is attempting to restore democracy two years after a rebellion overthrew President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
U.N. officials swarmed over the upscale Hotel Montana, where Bacellar died, but refused to comment to reporters.
ELECTION TIMETABLE
The death came days after election officials said they could not stage elections on January 8 as planned and postponed them for the fourth time. No new date has been set.
It was not immediately clear if Bacellar's death would affect planning for a new election timetable.
U.N. peacekeepers have been attempting to bring security to a nation where gangs hold sway in the sprawling slums. Heavily-armed peacekeepers have been unable to penetrate the Cite Soleil slum, where gangs have stashed numerous hostages after going on a kidnapping frenzy that peaked over the Christmas and New Year holidays.
The gangs have earned thousands of dollars in ransoms.
Two election workers and one of their spouses from the Organization of American States were among the kidnap victims. They have since been released.
Along with problems with security, delays in distributing voter registration cards and setting up polling stations have also been cited as reasons for continued postponements of the presidential and parliamentary elections.
