There are mounting security concerns in Haiti's earthquake-hit capital as distribution problems continue to hamper getting aid to survivors.
Days after the quake devastated Port-au-Prince, killing tens of thousands, there are some reports of gangs preying on residents and looting.
Officials say thousands of prisoners are unaccounted for after the main prison was destroyed.
Relief has been arriving, but little has moved beyond the jammed airport.
Damage to the seaport, roads and other infrastructure has prevented the speedy distribution of food, water and medical supplies.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she would travel to Haiti on Saturday to assess the damage and convey to the Haitian people "our long term, unwavering support, solidarity and sympathies".
Desperation among survivors of Tuesday's earthquake has led to rising fears over security in Port-au-Prince.
"Men suddenly appeared with machetes to steal money," resident Evelyne Buino told AFP news agency.
Up to 4,000 prisoners are unaccounted for, with many believed to have escaped from the central prison.
A local radio station urged people to "organize neighbourhood committees to avoid chaos".
First shipment
There is little police presence in the capital, although some Brazilian UN peacekeepers are patrolling the streets.
The BBC's Nick Davis in Port-au-Prince says the only convoys he has seen are people leaving the city, in search of food, water and medicine.
The UN is reporting a rise in the number of people trying to cross into the neighbouring Dominican Republic, and an influx into Haiti's northern cities.
Correspondents say that despite increasing anger at the slow pace of the relief effort, the security situation is not out of control.
Overnight the crippled port received its first supply ship since the earthquake, a boat carrying bananas and coal, AFP reports.
Interior Minister Paul Antoine Bien-Aime said 50,000 bodies had been collected, but the total number of dead could be "between 100,000 and 200,000".
The UN said about 300,000 people had been made homeless.
US authorities have taken temporary control of the airport to help distribute aid more quickly.
Meanwhile the UN has launched an appeal for $562m (£346m). UN humanitarian chief John Holmes said the funds were intended to help three million people for six months.
A total of about $360m has been pledged so far for the relief effort, but only part of this sum will be included in the emergency appeal.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who is due to visit Haiti on Sunday, said distribution of food and medicine was under way.
The US has already sent an aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, to Haiti and the USS Bataan, carrying a marine expeditionary unit, is on its way.
A hospital ship and more helicopters are due to be sent in the coming days, carrying more troops and marines, with the total number of US troops to rise to between 9,000 and 10,000.
Aid groups say it is a race against time to find any more trapped survivors.
Plane-loads of rescuers and relief supplies have arrived or are due from the UK, China, the EU, Canada, Russia and Latin American nations.
0 comments