Confiscations stoke violence at Haiti-Dominican border market

Dajabón, Dominican Republic.-Hundreds of Haitian attended the binational border market Friday amid pushingand shoving as Haiti authorities restricted its citizens from returning withproducts bought on the Dominican side.

Desperate Haitiansformed long lines, withstood punches and were beaten with batons, as somebuyers had been stripped of their merchandise when they crossed into the Haiti townof Ouanaminthe, without the needed food supplies.

Adding to the tensionFriday is the first round of Haiti´s presidential and municipal elections setfor Sunday, while Port-au-Prince´s ban on 23 Dominican products continues.