WASHINGTON, Dec 1: US Secretary of State Colin Powell and his delegation were unhurt in an intense gunfight that erupted outside Haiti's presidential palace on Wednesday
while they were in a meeting with Haitian leaders there but have decided to relocate scheduled talks, a senior State Department official said.
"Palace guards exchanged fire with unknown gunmen outside the perimeter," the official said, citing initial reports of the incident from Powell's security detail on the ground in Port-au-Prince.
"The secretary and the party are safe but the meetings that are going on are being relocated to another site," the official told AFP, adding that there were no immediate plans for Powell to cut short his brief visit to Haiti.
The gunfire erupted around 11:00 am (0900pm PST) about 90 minutes after Powell had arrived by helicopter at the palace, where he had been expected to spend most of the day.
There was no immediate word on any possible injuries. Presumed supporters of exiled former president Jean Bertrand Aristide were believed to have opened fire which was then returned by UN peacekeeping forces, palace sources said.
Powell is in Haiti on a one-day trip intended to show support for Latortue's government and the UN stabilization force deployed in the wake of Aristide's flight into exile in late February amid an armed uprising against his rule. -AFP
