UN boosts Haiti peacekeeper force

Hundreds have died in gang violence in the capital

The United Nations Security Council has voted to send extra peacekeepers to Haiti for elections later this year.

The UN said the 750 personnel would form a rapid response unit to deal with violence in the capital Port-au-Prince.

The Security Council also extended the mandate until February 2006, when an elected government takes office.

A wave of abductions has recently hit the city, and violence by gangs linked to former leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide is not yet under control.

The elections will be the first since Mr Aristide was ousted in a rebellion last year.

Uphill task

The new deployment will bring numbers in the Brazilian-led force up to 7,500.

There will also be more than 300 new UN police and administrators, to add to the 1,622 currently stationed there.

But the BBC's Susannah Price at the UN says the peacekeepers face an uphill task.

Human rights groups say hundreds have died in violence blamed on political militias and criminal gangs.

It is feared that the situation could deteriorate further in the run-up to local legislative and presidential elections due between October and December.

The Security Council vote was delayed for a month because China did not want the mandate to be renewed for a whole year.

China has been angered by Haiti's diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

The compromise measure was passed unanimously.

There have been complaints that the UN force has been ineffective in combating the violence and fears that this could keep voters away from the polls.