International force in Haiti still has work: Canadian Defense Minister

OTTAWA (AFP) Apr 08, 2004
International troops still have a long way to go to secure strife-torn Haiti and face a serious challenge from criminals, Canadian Defense Minister David Pratt said during a visit to Port-au-Prince Thursday.

"The multinational interim force has certainly made an impact here in terms of the security of the citizen," Pratt said during a conference call with Canadian reporters.

"Having said that, it would seem to me that there is still a pretty significant amount of work to do on the security side."

Pratt said multinational troops sent to restore order after former president Jean Bertrand Aristide resigned and left the country February 29 needed to track down and apprehend "criminal elements that still exist within the society here."

Canada has provided 450 troops for the 3,500 strong UN-authorized international security force.

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