Gunfire in the Haiti capital Port-au-Prince last night killed two people and injured six after police broke up a demonstration calling for the return of ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
The shooting erupted inside a slum when protesters scattered, some smashing shop and car windows, after police used tear gas to disperse several thousand Aristide loyalists enraged at his departure.
Morgue workers at the city's General Hospital said two bodies with bullet wounds were brought in after the unrest near the National Palace, the latest volatility in the impoverished Caribbean country. The workers said they had been killed by police but this could not be independently confirmed.
Discontent could be fuelled next week when Mr Aristide, who is in exile in Africa, plans to travel to Haiti's Caribbean neighbour Jamaica on a visit announced by Jamaica's prime minister yesterday.
Mr Aristide fled on February 29th, driven out by a month-long armed revolt and by US pressure to quit. More than 200 people have been killed in the violence.
He has alleged from exile in the Central African Republic that the United States staged a coup and forced his resignation. Washington denied those claims, but they have inflamed the passions of his supporters.