(BBC) Haitian President Rene Preval has appealed for calm amid fears that riots aimed at UN peacekeepers over a cholera epidemic could spread to the capital.
In a national address, Mr Preval warned that the violence in Haiti’s second largest city of Cap Haitien has hurt efforts to fight the disease.
The death toll from cholera in Haiti has risen above 1,000 and President Preval said barricades were keeping people from getting care.
It is a concern that has already been expressed by UN officials who say that the demonstrations are stopping them from dealing with the epidemic.
Port au Prince-based Pooja Bhatia, a fellow at the Institute of Current World Affairs, says it is clear that the protests are impacting negatively on anti-cholera efforts.
First Cholera case
The Dominican Republic has detected its first case of cholera, following the outbreak of the disease in neighbouring Haiti last month.
The health minister said the patient was a Haitian migrant who had recently returned from his homeland to eastern Dominican Republic.
The Dominican authorities had stepped up border controls and health checks to try to stop cholera from spreading from Haiti.
