Angry Haitians Protest UN “Occupation”

Around a hundred protesters blocked the entrance to the main UN base around Port-au-Prince's airport on Friday and shouted anti-UN slogans. They were met with UN soldiers who fired warning shots and used force to disperse the crowd, reports say.

The protesters say they want "real assistance, not the renewal of ... an occupying military force."

The angry Haitians were protesting the annual renewal of the UN's 12,000-member military and police force in the Caribbean nation, according to AP.

The UN Security Council voted on Thursday to renew the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti, which has been in place since the 2004 ouster of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Haiti has been demanding international assistance particularly after the country's devastating 2010 earthquake which left trails of deaths and destructions. They say foreign forces under the UN mandate have only occupied the Caribbean nation without engaging in serious relief or aid efforts.

There have also been reports of a rise in drug trafficking and criminal-gang activities in the country.