Port-au-Prince — Armed insurgents, who said they were be former members of Haiti's now-disbanded army, sped through Haiti's capital following President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's flight into exile Sunday and vowed to battle pro-Aristide gangs in the streets.
Calling themselves Liberation Front — Armed Forces of Haiti, the rebels arrived in the capital's Tétionville suburb carrying rifles and semi-automatic pistols and said they were loyal to top rebel commander Guy Philippe.
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"We've come to protect the people," said Faustin Miradieu, 38, who described himself as an ex-member of the army that overthrew Mr. Aristide in1991 and was disbanded after he was restored to power in 1994.
Haiti's Supreme Court Justice Boniface Alexandre, left, confers with Prime Minister Yvon Neptune before a Sunday press conference announcing President Jean- Bertrand's departure. (Thony Belizaire/AFP)
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He said he had about 50 men under his command who had been in the capital for two weeks participating in the rebel's armed insurgency that began on Feb. 5.
Mr. Aristide's supporters and international human rights groups say the rebels include former soldiers and police implicated in massacres organized by the army in the early 1990s.
Another of the rebels said Mr. Miradieu's force was part of a contingent of 200. Police formerly loyal to Mr. Aristide appeared to have reached an agreement with the rebels who allowed them to pass on foot and in vehicles through check points.
The rebels had cheered in the streets after Mr.Aristide left the capital early Sunday morning and an international military force prepared to arrive and maintain order.
"If my resignation can prevent bloodshed, I'll agree to go in the hope that this will bring life and not death," Mr. Aristide said in a written letter of resignation released following his early Sunday morning departure. His term did not expire until February 2006.
As the statement was being read to reporters by Prime Minister Yvon Neptune, heavily armed pro-Aristide gangs set up blockades across the capital, threatening motorists and stoning vehicles of foreign journalists.
Mr. Neptune made clear he was disappointed at Mr. Aristide's departure. "It is not what the vast majority of the people of Haiti wish to happen," he said. But he asked Haitians to "follow the example of President Aristide and make the needed sacrifices so that together we can help peace and stability establish themselves in this country."
Black smoke could be seen billowing from the area of the presidential palace. Bursts of automatic weapons fire were heard across the city less than an hour after Mr. Aristide's 6:15 a.m. departure.
U.S. ambassador James Foley said the foreign force would arrive this week and appealed to Haitians to remain calm. "We are coming very, very soon with a military force," he told reporters at Mr. Neptune's official's residence. "We don't tolerate looting, we don't tolerate armed forces, we don't tolerate criminal acts."
Mr. Foley also appealed to a rebel force that has been threatening to attack the capital of Port-au-Prince to lay down its weapons. "Their credibility is entirely on the line," he said, noting that the insurgents had promised to end their rebellion if Mr. Aristide left.
He did not specify the makeup of the international force, but it is expected to include Canadian and French forces. "American military forces are coming, and they are coming for the people of Haiti because the people have no peace and the people have no security," Mr. Foley said.
He urged Haitians to "stay home and wait" because help is arriving very quickly." It was not clear whether U.S. officials had been in contact with the rebels or whether the rebels had been offered guarantees in exchange for laying down their weapons.
Mr.Foley confirmed that Mr. Aristide had left on an American aircraft, but there were conflicting reports about where he was headed.
A close adviser in Haiti said Mr. Aristide was flying to the Dominican Republic and would seek asylum in Panama, Morocco or Taiwan.Officials in Taiwan and Morocco said there were no plans to receive the Haitian leader.
Panama's President Mireya Moscoso said in a radio interview that, if asked, her country would be willing to grant Mr.Aristide asylum.
In an interview, Mr. Neptune said rebels would not be immune from prosecution. "All those who have caused death and have sown violence should be taken before the courts and punished according to the law," he said.
The chief justice of Haiti's Supreme Court Boniface Alexandre was scheduled to be sworn in as interim president. But police at Mr. Neptune's residence said the judge who was to perform the ceremony had been unable to reach the residence because of blocked roads.
Mr. Alexandre admitted that he had been thrust unexpectedly into a post for which he was ill-prepared. "Politics is not my strength," he said, reading from a statement handwritten in single-spaced script.
He pleaded for Haitians' co-operation as the poorest country in the Americas seeks a way out its latest political crisis. "We have a country to build," he said.
Mr. Neptune said he would remain as prime minister while a political transition plan proposed by Haiti's Caribbean neighbours and accepted this month by Mr. Aristide is carried out.
Under the plan, representatives of the government, opposition political parties and foreign governments will approve a panel of seven parliament Haitians, who in turn will select a new prime minister.
Mr. Foley said foreign governments are prepared to support the transitional government with a military force and significant foreign aid. He said there would be a "major effort by the international community to train, equip and support the development of a new professional police force."
A U.S. envoy denied that his government had forced Mr. Aristide to resign. "President Aristide made a decision for the good of Haiti," Mr. Foley said. "[He] was particularly concerned about where the country was heading — toward further and further violence," he said.
"He indicated that by personally resigning, by making this personal sacrifice or gesture, he could help begin to heal this country." Mr. Aristide's departure marks the second time he has been driven from office before completing a presidential term.
He was overthrown in a military coup d'etat in 1991 and restored to power in 1994 by a U.S.-led invasion. He was elected to a second term in 2000, but faced widespread allegations of corruption and inciting political violence and international donors froze millions of dollars in aid.
Armed insurgents began the rebellion in Northern Haiti on Feb. 5 from Gonaïves, about 110 kilometres northwest of Port-au-Prince, and quickly swept across the northern part of the country. More than 100 people have been killed in the insurgency.
Mr. Aristide's supporters have charged that the rebellion was supported by elements of the U.S. government.
