BRASILIA, Brazil, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- U.N. peacekeepers in Haiti desperately need reinforcements to combat the recent outbreak of violence, Brazil's foreign minister said Thursday.
Celso Amorim said the violence that first erupted Sept. 30 has claimed some 50 lives. He said the U.N. force - led by Brazilian troops - is unable to contain the fighting.
Supporters of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide have been staging violent protests and killing detractors and policemen -- sometimes beheading them -- while calling for his return.
Aristide left Haiti in February after fighting among rebel groups that left some 200 people dead. He is currently in exile in South Africa.
More than 8,000 troops and international police were authorized to be deployed in Haiti to restore security and stability to the country as it prepares for fresh elections in 2005.
Leaders of the rebels that pressured Aristide to leave the country have said they are intent on returning to the capital to help restore order, a move that could ratchet up the violence and prompt conflicts with the ex-president's followers and U.N. peacekeepers.
Meanwhile, the fighting is also preventing relief agencies from sending needed supplies to the flood-ravaged northern city of Gonaives, where some 2,000 people were killed.
