UN warning over Haiti's militias

The UN warns that security in Haiti is being undermined

The UN Security Council has called on Haiti's interim government to tackle illegal militia groups, which it says threaten the country's security.

The warning comes seven months after a rebellion forced the former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide from office.

On Thursday, police said they arrested more than 100 people in a bid to disarm gangs in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The UN said there had been improvements in Haiti, but the government must exert its control across the whole country.

"The Security Council stresses the urgency of disbanding and disarming all illegal armed groups," it said in a statement.

"While the overall situation in Haiti has improved... challenges by illegal armed groups to the authority of the transitional government are undermining the stability and security in some parts of the country."

'More troops'

The statement, read out by acting council president, Spanish ambassador Juan Antonio Yanez Barnuevo, stressed the importance of building an effective national police force.

The UN has also urged member countries to "do their utmost to expedite the early deployment" of promised troops for the peacekeeping mission in Haiti.

The Brazil-led UN mission took control of security on the island in June. It replaced a US-led multinational force that stepped in when Mr Aristide left office in February.

The head of the UN mission in Haiti, Juan Gabriel Valdez, welcomed a decision by Spain to sending 200 marines to Haiti as part of a joint UN peacekeeping force with Morocco.