A multinational force in revolt-torn Haiti suffered its first fatality when a French legionnaire died after a gun accidentally fired, the commanding general said on Sunday.
"I understand it was an accidental discharge," said US Marine Corp. Brigadier General Ronald Coleman, head of the 3,000-strong UN-sanctioned deployment. "It wasn't a Haitian or anyone else shooting at the Frenchman," he told Reuters. "It was one of their own."
Few details were available about the incident - the first fatality since the force landed on February 29 to restore order after President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was driven into exile by an armed revolt and US pressure.
A week ago, a US Marine was shot in the arm by gunmen in Port-au-Prince thought to be supporters of Aristide, many of whom are enraged by the ouster of the poor Caribbean country's first democratically elected leader.