MONTREAL, August 13, 2008 (AFP) - Twelve people were arrested overnight following weekend clashes between riot police and youth in a heavily Haitian district of the city, Montreal police said Wednesday.

'Twelve people were arrested for disturbing the peace in the Riviere-des-Prairies sector,' spokesman Yannick Ouimet told AFP.

The youths had been throwing rocks at a police patrol in the neighborhood, which is adjacent to Montreal North, the sector of Quebec's capital that saw cars burned and store windows smashed during riots overnight Sunday.

The unrest is linked to the death of Saturday of Freddy Villanueva, 18, who was shot and killed by police in the Montreal North, the hub of the Haitian community in Quebec and an area sometimes called the 'Bronx' of Montreal.

Provincial police have launched an investigation into the man's death, and vowed on Tuesday that the probe would be 'objective.'

The shooting took place after a police patrol was rushed by three men, according to police.

Villanueva died, and the other two were wounded. Local witnesses said the police started the confrontation, and by Sunday afternoon protests were underway in the neighborhood, with demonstrators carrying pictures of the dead man and chanting: 'The police are the murderers.'

The shooting occurred in an area which frequently sees clashes between street gangs. Residents have accused the police there of racial profiling.