U.S. pushes for peace deal

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- The United States tried to broker a last-ditch peace plan and Marines flew into Haiti to protect the U.S. Embassy as rebels threatened to attack the capital in a bid to overthrow President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
An opposition coalition was on the brink Monday of rejecting a U.S.-backed peace plan because it did not require Aristide to resign. But Secretary of State Colin Powell phoned opposition politicians and persuaded them to delay their formal response for 24 hours -- or by 5 p.m. today.
The extra time "will perhaps give Mr. Powell a little more time to consider his position ... and give us the assurances we need," said Evans Paul, a leading opponent once allied with Aristide, who repeated demands from an opposition coalition that Aristide step down.
Marines arrive
Rifles at the ready, about 24 Marines in full battle gear rushed off a U.S. Air Force transport plane at Port-au-Prince's international airport Monday and secured a perimeter around the aircraft before an additional 30 Marines got off a second plane. Some Haitians stood on cars or high walls to peer at them.
The Marines then drove to the U.S. Embassy in a convoy of trucks and cars. Western diplomats and a Defense Department official said their mission was to protect the U.S. Embassy and its staff.
Ten years ago, the United States sent 20,000 troops to end a military dictatorship that had ousted Aristide in 1991, a year after he became Haiti's first freely elected leader. But Washington has made clear it won't commit a large number of troops this time.
Aristide, hugely popular when he was elected, especially among the destitute in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country, has since lost a lot of support. Opponents accuse the former priest of failing to help those in need, condoning corruption and masterminding attacks on opponents by armed gangs. Aristide denies the charges. Flawed legislative elections in 2000 led international donors to freeze millions of dollars in aid.
Paul told The Associated Press the international community was hinting it would call for Aristide's resignation if he failed to respect the terms of the peace plan, which calls for him to share power.
Aristide's supporters, fearing the rebels would move on the capital after taking Haiti's second-biggest city, Cap-Haitien, on Sunday, set flaming barricades to block a key road outside Port-au-Prince.
"We are ready to resist, with anything we have -- rocks, machetes," said a teacher guarding one roadblock, who gave his name only as Rincher.
Hunted down by rebels
Rebels in Cap-Haitien, meanwhile, hunted down militants loyal to Aristide on Monday, accusing them of terrorizing the population in the days before the city fell.
"I am a brick mason, I didn't do anything wrong," Jean-Bernard Prevalis, 33, pleaded as he was dragged away, head bleeding.
"We're going to clean the city of all 'chimeres,"' said rebel Dieusauver Magustin, 26. Chimere, which means ghost, is used to describe hardcore Aristide militants.
It was not clear what would happen to those detained. One rebel said they were saving them from lynching. But another, Claudy Philippe, said "The people show us the [chimere] houses. If they are there, we execute them."
Thousands of people demonstrated in favor of the rebellion, chanting "Aristide get out!" and "Goodbye Aristide."
Looting continued in the city Monday, although some rebels tried to scare off looters with warning shots. The 800 tons of food in the U.N. World Food Program warehouse was plundered, according to the agency's Andrea Bagnoli, and people torched the home of pro-Aristide Mayor Wilmar Innocent.
Rebels' leader
Rebel leader Guy Philippe said more than 30 residents have volunteered to fight with the rebels, who have started to replace officials in Cap-Haitien with rebel sympathizers. Philippe, an officer in the army when it ousted Aristide and instigated a reign of terror, said in an interview Monday that he hopes to take Port-au-Prince by Sunday, his 36th birthday.
Cap-Haitien is just 90 miles north of Port-au-Prince, but is a seven-hour drive over potholed roads sometimes reduced to bedrock.
Aristide's Premier Yvon Neptune appealed to the political opposition coalition to agree to the U.S.-backed international peace plan, which Aristide has accepted.
The plan would allow him to remain president with diminished powers, sharing with political rivals a government that would organize elections.
More than half of Haiti now is beyond the control of the central government. The takeover of Cap-Haitien by only some 200 fighters was the most significant victory since the uprising erupted Feb. 5. At least 17 were killed in Sunday's fighting, raising the toll to about 70 dead and dozens wounded in the revolt.
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