
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, January 13, 1995                   TAG: 9501130090
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI                                 LENGTH: Medium

U.S. SOLDIER KILLED, 1 WOUNDED IN HAITI

A U.S. soldier and a Haitian were killed Thursday in a shooting at a Haitian checkpoint in the coastal city of Gonaives, U.S. officials said.

Another U.S. soldier was wounded, U.S. Embassy spokesman Stan Schrager said. Gonaives is about 100 miles north of the capital

It was the first U.S. combat fatality in Haiti since American troops were deployed in the fall. One American, a translator for the international police force, died in an accident and three U.S. soldiers have committed suicide since the mission began.

Schrager said a white pickup truck rammed the army checkpoint, and the passenger came out shooting when U.S. Special Forces troops ran to investigate.

One soldier was seriously wounded and died a short time later at a mobile hospital set up by the U.S.-led multinational forces in Haiti, Schrager said. The second was undergoing surgery for a wounded arm.

``Our troops returned fire, killing the guy who fired upon them,'' he said. The other Haitian was being questioned.

``Apparently it was a criminal activity and not directed at the U.S.,'' Schrager said.

Maj. Cindy Sito, a military spokeswoman, told Cable News Network that the shooting was an ``isolated incident.''

The soldiers' names were not immediately available. They were part of the Special Forces contingent that has been deployed in the outlying towns of Haiti.

U.S. soldiers were deployed in Haiti to lead a multinational force that removed Haiti's military leaders from power in September, allowing for the return of elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

The fall of the dictatorship has brought a crime wave, often attributed to the gunmen who enforced the military's rule and now are looking for a way to make a living.

Clinton administration officials earlier this week said the U.S. military would transfer authority to a United Nations force by mid-March.

At the height of intervention this past fall, there were 21,000 U.S. soldiers in Haiti. About 6,000 remain in the 8,000-member multinational force.

by CNB