UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations Security Council will most likely peacekeeping troops in Haiti for another year, but will not heed Haitians' calls to shift their focus from security to developingthe hungry, storm-ravaged nation, the chief United Nations envoy to Haiti said on Wednesday.

The council held talks on renewing the 9 000-member, Brazilian-led force at United Nations Headquarters in New York on Wednesday. A vote is expected on Tuesday, October 14, the day before its one-year mandate expires. A draft resolution that circulated on Wednesday would extend the mandate while keeping the number of troops at 7 060 and police at 2 091. It also lends support for a high-level donor conference for Haiti and "strongly condemns the grave violations against children affected by armed violence, as well as widespread rape and other sexual abuse of girls."

United Nations Special Representative Hedi Annabi, who headsthe four-year-old mission, told the Security Council that though Haiti was seriously set back by riots over soaring food prices and devastating hurricanes this year, he was convinced Haiti can overcomeits problems with help.

But though Haitian President Rene Preval has been calling on the force for more than two years now to provide long-term assistance with "fewer tanks and more tractors," Annabi said he would not request that the force shift to development work this year because it is not the
Security Council's mission. (AP)