UN to investigate alleged extrajudicial killings after Haiti's January earthquake

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti is investigating reports that dozens of prisoners were shot during a jail riot soon after the January earthquake.



A New York Times investigation alleges at least 12 unarmed prisoners were killed by Haitian police in the city of Les Cayes after they had surrendered.



Haitian police have blamed fighting among inmates for the deaths.



Thousands of prisoners escaped from jails in Haiti in the chaos after the quake that killed more than 230,000 people. The newspaper said the riot started when some of the 467 inmates tried to escape from the overcrowded jail in Les Cayes, Haiti\'s third biggest city. The New York Times alleges that Haitian forces shot unarmed inmates and then tried to cover it up.



However local officials in Les Cayes said lethal force had not been used when the police went in. They blamed the deaths on a ringleader in the jail.