PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Haitian police traded shots Thursday with civilian supporters of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the latest incident of escalating violence.
Two days ago police were accused of executing 10 civilians in a Port-au-Prince slum, prompting Thursday's shootout, while infuriated resident of the capital blocked several of the city's main streets with flaming refuse and old cars.
A recent outbreak of violence has claimed more than 60 lives, seven of them police officers. Some of those victims were beheaded.
Blamed for the violence are loyalists to Aristide, who are calling for his return from exile in South Africa.
Aristide left the country in February amid growing pressure from armed rebel groups calling for his resignation and mounting violence that had left more than 200 people dead.
The U.N. peacekeeping force in Haiti -- led by Brazilian troops --is struggling to maintain order in the embattled Caribbean nation.
Spanish troops joining the U.N. effort began arriving Thursday along with Moroccan soldiers.
The two nations will contribute a total of 350 soldiers, with Spain also bringing its own armored vehicles. The deployment will bring the total U.N. force -- led by Brazilian troops -- to nearly 3,700.
That number is still well below the more than 8,000 troops and international police officers the United Nations pledged to help Haiti.
