SANTO DOMINGO, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- A call for more protests Thursday against the Haitian government raised tensions in the country's second largest city, where mass demonstrations erupted last week, local media said.
Tensions were visibly high Thursday after protesters clashed with police late Wednesday in the city of Cap-Haitien, 275 km north of the capital Port-au-Prince.
Last Friday, thousands of people took to the streets to protest the high cost of living and flawed government policies.
Cap-Haitien authorities have asked protesters to be patient and wait to see whether the government's measures against shortages of basic goods and price increases would be effective.
In mid-September, Haitian President Michel Martelly announced several measures to combat price increases of basic products after tropical storm Isaac caused significant losses to the country's agriculture.
Martelly's government has also made some changes in response to the demonstrations, including replacing Haiti's national police general director and its delegate in Cap-Haitien.
But opposition groups and social activists called for more protests Thursday. Martelly's opponents said the changes "only strengthen the repressive regime against popular demonstrations", adding that "the people can't wait."
The storm Isaac hit Haiti hard as it continues to recover from a devastating earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010. The country has also struggled to control a cholera epidemic that has killed more than 7,000 people since October 2010.
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