U.S. Will Not Send Troops In Haiti

WASHINGTON, July 1  -- The United States has turned down a request from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan for U.S. troops in Haiti, the Miami Herald reported Friday

Earlier this week Annan made the request in a meeting with U.S. Secretary of States Condoleezza Rice.

"We continue to believe that a focused and robust response by MINUSTAH (the U.N. peacekeeping force) is the key to security in Haiti and will lay the groundwork for successful elections and economic growth in the long term," said a State Department spokesman, the Herald reported.

Annan's request comes amid continued violence in Haiti, as the 7,500 U.N. solider and police force struggle to bring security to the embattled Caribbean nation.

The United Nations has elected to send at least 1,000 more troops to back up the existing force ahead of presidential elections scheduled for the end of the year.