PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – A desperate appeal from the president Wednesday failed to restore order to Haiti’s shattered capital, and bands of looters sacked stores, warehouses and government offices.
 
 
Gunfire rang out from the wealthy suburbs in the hills to the starving slums below as 9,000 U.N. peacekeepers were unable to halt a frenzy of looting and violence that has grown out of protests over rising food prices.

Thousands of people were in the streets of Port-au-Prince following President Rene Preval’s speech, many looting stores and terrorizing drivers and shopkeepers with rocks. Thousands more took part other in protests across the country. An uneasy calm settled in by late Wednesday, with stores remaining closed but protesters mostly dispersed and many roadblocks abandoned. Continue reading →