Crowds of demonstrators in Haiti have tried to storm the presidential palace in the capital Port-au-Prince as protests continue over food prices. The prices of rice, beans and fruit have gone up by 50% in the last year.

The demonstrators outside the presidential palace said the rising cost of living in Haiti meant they were struggling to feed themselves. “We are hungry,” they shouted before attempting to smash open the palace gates with metal bins.

Overwhelmed guards struggled to hold back the crowd until U.N. peacekeepers arrived. UN troops fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowd. Several people are reported to have been injured in the clashes.

Les Cayes
Thousands took to the streets and went on the rampage in the town of Les Cayes, last week, blocking roads, looting shops and shooting at UN peacekeepers. The UN said its personnel had opened fire at some of the armed protesters.

A small group of protesters broke into the Les Cayes UN compound and damaged its gate. Some also fired shots at peacekeepers deployed in the town in an attempt to maintain public order. The UN troops fired back in response. The ensuing unrest left three dead in Les Cayes, including one young man who demonstrators said was fatally shot in the head by the UN peacekeepers.

The UN said it was investigating the death. At least five people have been killed in Haiti since the unrest began

Government
The protesters demanded the resignation of President Rene Preval, who came to power two years ago promising to restore peace to a country torn apart by fighting between rival armed gangs. Mr Preval is believed to have been inside the palace at the time.
Violence in Haiti has often been linked to poverty with more than half the population surviving on less than a dollar a day. New customs procedures aimed at collecting revenues and stopping the flow of drugs has left tons of food rotting in ports In a country where almost all food is imported, cargo traffic from Miami has ground nearly to a halt.
Critics say both Mr Preval and the international community have focused too much on political stability and not enough on helping to alleviate poverty and now growing hunger. Government officials say the riots are being manipulated by outside forces, more specifically drug smugglers.

United Nations

The protesters are also focusing their anger on the 9,000 or so UN peacekeepers sent to Haiti in 2004 under Resolution 1542 which established the ‘UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)”

. Their mission was to quell the chaos that followed the ousting of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the country’s first democratically elected leader.
Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Americas. Around 80% of the population lives on less than $2 a day.