Xihua, August 22, 2006...A major Haitian gang leader Amaral Duclona on Monday shelved Haitian President's disarmament plans, saying that his group will not surrender arms, unless the UN peacekeepers stop its raids in slums in the area, according to reports reaching here from Port-au-Prince.

Haitian President Rene Preval, earlier this month, demanded that the gang members in the country should disarm or risk being assassinated.

Duclona said he and his men had planned to disarm on Monday, but changed their minds due to the UN attacks on the Cite Soleil slum.

"As long as (UN troops) keep attacking, we are not going to lay down our weapons," Duclona said. He asked the government to send representatives to Cite Soleil for negotiations.

Cite Soleil is a lawless slum not far from the national airport in Port-au-Prince.

The UN mission denied accusations of unprovoked attacks, saying that the peacekeepers only fired at the armed gangsters attacking them.

The 8,800-strong UN peacekeeping force was deployed to the violence-torn country, to restore order after the ouster of president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, in February 2004. The peacekeepers along with the Haitian police have been fighting against the slum-based gang fighters.

Source: Xinhua