A man walks past burning barricade during an anti-government demonstration in Port-au-Prince, 07 April 2008

A group of opposition lawmakers in Haiti is urging Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis to resign following deadly protests over soaring food prices.

A majority of the nation's senators said Haitians have lost confidence in the government's ability to deal with the rocketing cost of living.

The lawmakers signed the letter asking the prime minister to resign after President Rene Preval delivered a speech Wednesday vowing to subsidize Haiti's rice farmers.

The opposition lawmakers said the government is not going far enough to lower the cost of food staples such as beans, rice and oil.

Haiti's capital of Port-Au-Prince remained relatively calm Thursday after days of rioting, looting and demonstrations.

Thousands of demonstrators clashed with U.N. peacekeepers as the protesters stormed the National Palace on Tuesday and Wednesday.

At least five people have been killed since demonstrations began last week.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.