Aristide loyalists riot in Haiti capital

Police were absent from the streets as riots erupted

Supporters of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide have set alight barricades and rioted in the capital Port-au-Prince in protest at anti-government demonstrations.

Stones were thrown at passing vehicles and sporadic gunfire was heard although there were no reports of any serious injuries.

Protests have flared up across the country since the weekend

Sunday saw the biggest anti-government rally in the country since Mr Aristide was re-elected to a second five-year term in November 2000 amid widespread accusations of fraud.

Protesters from across Haiti's impoverished society accused him of corruption and incompetence.

Haiti

President Aristide was re-elected in 2000 in a poll boycotted by the opposition

First elected president in 1990 and ousted by a coup seven months later

He returned to power in 1994 with US backing

The country is the poorest in the Americas

But on Friday Aristide loyalists took to the streets of the capital to vent their anger on the opposition.

The acting head of the president's ruling Lavalas Family party, Jonas Petit, said the army was indignant at attacks on the government.

"We have tried to restrain our troops, but they are unable to refrain from expressing their frustration at the way the opposition is blocking the country," he said.

With police notably absent from the streets of the capital, foreign missions and organisations have been advising their staff to stay indoors.

The unrest forced schools and businesses to close down.

Streets have been strewn with fliers pledging loyalty to President Aristide and accusing the international community of plotting against Haitian sovereignty.

Unrest in the provinces

Opposition to the government ranges from business leaders to the unemployed.

Foreign aid is being delayed by a continuing dispute over the 2000 elections and their re-run.

The opposition accuses Aristide of rigging the elections in 2000

Tens of thousands of people attended Sunday's opposition rally in Cap-Haitien, the country's second city, and on Wednesday, student protesters clashed with police in the town of Petit-Goave, 70 kilometres (44 miles) west of Port-au-Prince.

Ten people were injured as a result, four of them students who received shotgun wounds.

Education Minister Myrtho Celestin resigned after the Petit-Goave violence but no explanation has been given.