Márcia Wonghon
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Recife - The fifth contingent of Brazilian soldiers to serve in the the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (Minustah) will leave Brazil in May. The group will consist of 850 soldiers, most of them from the northeastern states of Pernambuco, Bahia, Rio Grande do Norte, Alagoas and Ceará.

Another 225 marines stationed in Rio de Janeiro will join them.

The soldiers serve in Haiti for six months where they provide security for conveys and authorities, and seek to maintain public harmony in general. According to a military spokesman, captain Danilo Hereda, the biggest problem in Haiti that Brazilian troops face at the moment is gang action. "These are armed groups that are a threat to the peace and the country's authorities," he declared.

Translation: Allen Bennett