PORT-AU-PRINCE, May 14 (Xinhua) -- A riot that broke out early Sunday in a central jail in Port-au-Prince, capital of Haiti, was brought under control after hours of confrontation.

    The Haitian government made no official statement about the riot which was believed to be a protest against the new Haitian president, Rene Preval, who took the oath on Sunday.

    Most of 800 prisoners in the jail are former government employees.

    In a separate development, dozens of sympathizers for former president Jean Bertrand Aristide, now in exile in South Africa, took to the streets to demand his return.

    Violence led by discharged former military officers is thought to be the cause of political turbulence in Haiti, one of the world's poorest countries.

    Preval on Sunday called on his compatriots to "reinforce dialog and reinforce peace."

    "Peace is the key that opens the doors to employment, tourism, infrastructure, education, health and national production."

    Preval, 63, was Haiti's president from 1996 to 2001. Enditem