UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- U.N. peacekeepers in Haiti arrested 59 suspected armed gang members in Port-au-Prince.
"We will continue these operations for a better future and for bringing security to the territory of the country," said Maj. Laurie Arellano, spokeswoman for the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti, known by its French acronym MINUSTAH Thursday.
As a result of the agency's clean-up sweeps, MINUSTAH was able to use a sports field in the notoriously dangerous Cite Soleil quarter of Port-au-Prince to deliver water, meals and medical and dental care to local residents, Arellano said.
"We will continue to pursue the gangs who dig ditches to prevent the free movement of peacekeepers in order to commit their acts of banditry against the local population and impede their access to public services," Arellano added.
MINUSTAH was set up in 2004 to help re-establish peace in the country after an insurgency forced then President Jean-Bertrand Aristide into exile.
Over the weekend, U.N. peacekeepers captured Johnny Pierre Louis, an alleged murder who is thought to have committed many bloody crimes. Peacekeepers searched the house of Amaral Duclonat, another presumed gang leader, but were unable to find and arrest him, said Arellano.
"Our objective is to arrest the criminals, confiscate their arms and take control of the areas and houses they use to carry out their acts of banditry and attack the peacekeepers," Arellano said.
