Haiti tense after unpopular fuel price hike

PORT-AU-PRINCE: At least one person was killed amid protests in the capital of impoverished Haiti Friday, following the announcement of a fuel price rise to comply with an International Monetary Fund agreement.

The bodyguard of a politician was killed in an altercation with demonstrators in Port-au-Prince as he attempted to force a passage through a roadblock, with his body then burned in the road.

Burning tires continued to block major routes in the capital, while sporadic gunfire could be heard in several of its districts. Fearful of moving across the city, many decided to spend the night at their offices or businesses.

Earlier Friday, the government said that starting this weekend, the price of gasoline will rise 38 percent, diesel will go up 47 percent and kerosene will cost 51 percent more.

The measure is highly unpopular among the majority of people in a country which is the poorest in the Americas.

Roadblocks further complicated traffic already snarled by drivers trying to fill up before prices rise, but most gas stations had closed in the mid afternoon. The framework signed in February between the IMF and Haiti implied the ending of subsidies for petroleum products, which are a major source of the budget deficit.