( dpa ) - The situation in Haiti remained tense Tuesday, with renewed protests over the increase in food prices.
Thousands of people demonstrated on the streets of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, and moved towards the central presidential palace.
According to eye-witness reports, many street crossings were occupied by protesters. The national police and the international stabilization troop Minustah had not yet intervened, but shops, banks and offices had closed their doors preventively, one local told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa over the phone.
"The authorities no longer have the situation under control," the eyewitness said.
The latest wave of protests started last week over a 50-per-cent increase in the price of staple foods in the past year. Protests were held in several cities.
One person was killed and dozens injured Monday in the southern city of Les Cayes, where four people died last week in food riots and clashes with UN peacekeepers. Cars were ignited, barricades of burning tyres were laid down in the city and businesses were looted.
Haiti is the poorest country in Latin America, and is in a dire economic and political situation following decades of dictatorships.
Prime minister Jaques Edouard Alexis said over the weekend that forces wanting to destabilize the government were behind the unrest.
The head of the United Nations World Food Programme warned on Monday that a global surge in food prices could lead to further tensions.
The UN mission Minustah was sent to Haiti after President Jean- Bertrand Aristide was ousted from office in 2004.