Haitian former minister arrested

Privert is the first of Aristide's ministers to be detained

Haitian police have arrested the former interior minister of exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Jocelerme Privert is wanted in connection with killings of several people presumed to be Aristide opponents in the town of Saint Marc.

Mr Privert reportedly resisted arrest at first, but then gave himself up.

He is the first former member of the Aristide government to be detained since Mr Aristide left the country in disputed circumstances on 29 February.

Mr Privert is accused of helping coordinate the killing of political opponents in Saint Marc - around 96km (60 miles) north of the capital Port-au-Prince - as violence raged in the run-up to Mr Aristide's fall.

According to AP news agency, a human rights activist said there were reports that more than 50 people were killed in mid-February in Saint Marc.

But journalists in the town at the time reported seeing fewer than five bodies.

The AFP news agency quoted a police spokesman as saying Mr Privert tried to resist arrest when police arrived at his home in Port-au-Prince just after midnight.

"Mr Privert first tried to escape, but he co-operated and his arrest was completed at 0200," said Commissioner Max Isaac. A large amount of evidence was seized at the home, Mr Isaac said.

'Witch-hunt'

Mr Privet's arrest comes days after Haiti's new government announced it would block dozens of former Aristide officials from leaving the country - including former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune.

Justice Minister Bernard Gousse said that keeping them in Haiti was an insurance policy, pending investigations into alleged crimes committed by the former administration.

However, he added that it did not mean they were automatically guilty.

This would be for the justice system to decide, he said.

Former Prime Minister Neptune - now in hiding in the capital - has said that the new government is conducting a witch-hunt.