Ongoing turmoil in Haiti threatens peace

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- The ongoing instability in Haiti has prompted a recommendation that the U.N. mission in the country be extended.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a recent report that escalating food prices and a political deadlock in Haiti, along with a transnational criminal network smuggling narcotics through the country, have resulted in a potentially dangerous security climate.

Ban called on the U.N. Security Council to extend the U.N. mission in Haiti for another year, the United Nations reported.

For four months political leaders in Haiti's legislature have been at an impasse over the selection of a new prime minister. The political standstill also has halted any action on addressing the increasingly violent protests over the escalating cost of living in the country.

In the report, Ban warned that the current conditions in Haiti pose a major threat to the country's stability.

"The continued deployment of the U.N. mission to Haiti remains indispensable," Ban wrote in the report.

"In addition to the support of the peacekeeping operation, the engagement of the wider international community will be critical for real progress."