By MICHAEL NORTON, Associated Press Writer
Two bystanders ? a 13-year-old boy and a woman ? were shot and wounded, Radio Vision 2000 reported from Haiti’s northern port city, Cap-Haitien. Their condition was not immediately known, and it was unclear who fired the shots.
Some people were hurt by the hail of rocks and bottles hurled by Aristide supporters, but it was not clear how many, the independent radio station reported. One police officer was injured by a rock.
“Aristide must go whether he likes it or not,” chanted the more than 1,000 demonstrators as they marched for a mile in downtown Cap-Haitien before being attacked by about 20 Aristide partisans armed with guns, Radio Vision said.
Police eventually fired in the air, and the protesters and partisans ran away. No one was arrested for their part in the violence.
The march was called by a coalition of opposition parties and civil groups that organized numerous strikes and demonstrations since December.
At least 50 people have been killed since mid-September in clashes between protesters and police, and protesters and Aristide supporters.
On Friday, the U.S. State Department ordered nonessential diplomats and family members to leave the impoverished
The State Department warned Americans against visiting a place where the government “has not been able to maintain order … and in some instances has assisted in violently repressing the demonstrations.”
Aristide has pledged to hold new elections, but the opposition coalition refuses to participate unless he steps down. Aristide was elected in a separate 2000 election marred by an opposition boycott and poor voter turnout. His term ends in 2006.