US-led troops detain 2 top rebels

[seemslikeadream]

Chicago Tribune (subscription), IL

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI -- A US-led multinational force trying to bring stability to Haiti helped detain two top rebel figures, officials said Friday, the first ...
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Haitian rebel leaders arrested

French peacekeepers and Haitian police briefly detained Wilford Ferdinand, a rebel commander who had been accused of kidnapping a Haitian police officer, French military spokesman Major Xavier Pons said.

US and French troops, meanwhile, helped Haitian police arrest Jean Robert, a rebel sympathizer and gang leader accused of terrorizing supporters of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in northeast Haiti.


Isaac said Robert was convicted of bringing stolen cars into Haiti from the Dominican Republic. He escaped when rebels took over a prison. The Dominican government may ask for Jean's extradition as it investigates the February slayings of two Dominican soldiers along the border.

Ferdinand, known as "Ti-Will," was detained on Wednesday at a hotel in the northern city of Gonaives, a rebel stronghold, Pons said. He didn't resist arrest and was released four hours later at the request of police in Port-au-Prince.

Ferdinand claimed he took the unidentified police officer into custody to prevent him from being lynched, Pons said. Troops and police seized 10 weapons during the raid.

Jean Robert was arrested on April 3 in Fort Liberte, a remote northern town close to the Dominican border. He was placed on a US military helicopter and flown to the Port-au-Prince penitentiary to await charges, Pons said.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/04/11/2003136221