Strong aftershock hits Haiti as troops arrive

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Wednesday

A strong aftershock struck Haiti today, creating panic among people camping out in the capital’s streets after last week’s devastating earthquake.

The 6.1 aftershock rattled already shattered buildings but there were no immediate reports of damage from the tremor, which struck after daybreak. Fearing damage from aftershocks, thousands of people have been sleeping in streets in the capital Port-au-Prince since the January 12 earthquake.

The US Geological Survey said Wednesday’s tremor was centered 42 km west-northwest of Jacmel.

Fears of violence and looting have eased in Haiti as US troops provided security for water and food aid deliveries, and thousands of displaced Haitians heeded the government’s advice to seek shelter outside Port-au-Prince.

Medical care, handling of corpses, shelter, water, food and sanitation remain the priorities for the international operations, UN relief officials said a week after the magnitude 7 quake.

US Black Hawk helicopters swooped down on Haiti’s wrecked presidential palace to deploy troops and supplies on Tuesday.

The airborne troops in combat gear moved to secure Port-au-Prince’s nearby General Hospital, where staff have been overwhelmed by patients seriously injured in the 7.0 magnitude that destroyed much of Haiti’s capital one week ago.

Their arrival brought crowds of quake survivors camped out in the park opposite the palace rushing to its iron railings to gawk and beg for handouts of food.

It was one of the most visible and potentially sensitive deployments so far by the US military, which is spearheading international efforts to assist millions of injured and homeless Haitians.

At least one Latin American leader, Venezuela’s socialist President Hugo Chavez, a fiery critic of what he calls US “imperialism,” has already accused Washington of “occupying” Haiti under the pretext of an aid operation.

The commander of the US troops in Haiti, Lieutenant General Ken Keen, said their primary purpose was humanitarian assistance and providing food and water to Haitians.

“Security goes hand-in-hand with our mission,” he told CNN at the hospital protected by his men.

Watching the soldiers, quake survivor Gille Frantz said: “We know the world wants to help us, but it has been eight days now and I have not seen any food or water for my family.”

Haitian officials say the death toll from the quake was likely to be between 100,000 and 200,000, and that 75,000 bodies had already been buried in mass graves.