Weekly Report - 25 July 2006

The early-May shoot-outs, which left a toll of at least 20 dead [WR-06-28], have been accompanied by a sudden surge in kidnappings, many in broad daylight, and by a further round of shooting incidents last week that left a toll estimated at 11 killed. The UN mission and some politicians see a political motivation behind the violence, but the Préval administration insists that it is just the work of criminals.