Canada to send 100 police to Haiti

OTTAWA, July 7 (UPI) -- Canada will send 100 police officers to Haiti for two years as part of an international effort to stabilize the Caribbean nation.

Prime Minister Paul Martin announced the contribution Tuesday as part of a broader effort to quell the political violence that began in February and led President Jean Bertrand Aristide to flee to the Central African Republic, then to Jamaica and finally to South Africa, The Ottawa Citizen reported.

Some 500 Canadian soldiers are currently stationed in Haiti but are scheduled to return home in August.

"Haiti is very, very important to us," Martin said. "We have a very large Haitian population in Canada and we do feel both a hemispheric and a moral responsibility."