More Violence in Haiti over Fuel Price Hikes

Haitians furious over steep hikes in fuel prices again looted schools and other buildings around the impoverished country on Friday, reports AFP.

The violence reached a UN World Food Program facility where 1,400 tons of supplies were being stored, as angry protesters took to the streets yet again in Port au Prince and elsewhere.

The WFP issued a statement condemning the attack Thursday on its storage facility in the city of Gonaives, saying the food that was stolen was earmarked for school lunches and the poorest families in Haiti.

"This incident is simply unacceptable," its local director Jean Martin Cauer said, adding that the food was supposed to feed nearly 100,000 school kids for the rest of the year.

The capital endured its fourth straight day of violence as protesters attacked government buildings in anger over the fuel price hikes.

On Thursday they targeted Haitian National Television, a National Archives building as well as various stores and businesses.

The protests were set in motion after Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced Sunday that the cash-strapped government could no longer afford fuel subsidies and that prices would have to be increased.

As a result, diesel and kerosene prices are expected to almost double, from about 350 to nearly 670 gourdes ($3-5.7).