PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti_Haiti’s justice minister on Saturday accused U.N. peacekeepers of violating their mandate, in a dispute over police officers accused of killing unarmed protesters that is creating more tension ahead of elections to replace ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

The remarks could bring a confrontation about areas of responsibility between Haiti’s U.S.-backed interim government and the 7,400-member U.N. peacekeeping force tasked with supporting the government and restoring a stability that remains elusive one year after Aristide fled a rebel uprising.