The commander of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Haiti was found dead in his hotel room Saturday in Port au-Prince, agencies reported.
Lt Gen Urano Teixeira da Matta Bacellar, a career officer in the Brazilian army, died in what his colleagues described as a "firearm accident." UN officials told Reuters that he had shot himself.
The general replaced another Brazilian officer, Lt Gen Augusto Heleno Ribeiro as commander of the UN peacekeeping force in 2005. The forces have been there since June 2004 to restore stability after president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted in a violent revolt.
The peacekeeping force comprises 6,200 troops and 1,400 civilian police officers from over 40 countries. It has not been able to stem the violence in Haiti, with proposed elections being postponed four times due to violence, delays in distributing identification cards and issues involving polling stations. The UN has sought a presidential election February 7.
Bacellar was found with his gun was found near his body. He was dressed in shorts and a white T-shirt, witnesses said.
"It is unfortunate and devastating to see such a good and honorable general killed in such circumstances," Brazil's ambassador to Haiti, Paulo Cordeiro de Andrade Pinto, told Reuters.
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