March On Haiti's Capital

Former soldiers who led a deadly revolt against ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide gathered in Haiti's capital Wednesday, saying reinforcements were coming to help end violence that has killed at least 46 people.

Those advancing rebels intended to provide security in Port-au-Prince, former Army Master Sgt. Joseph Jean-Baptiste said in a poor quality recording broadcast by private Radio Vision 2000.

Port-au-Prince has been beset by shootouts and beheadings since a Sept. 30 demonstration marking the 1991 coup that overthrew Aristide. Police reportedly shot and killed two people at the demonstration held by supporters of Aristide.

The headless bodies of three police officers turned up the same day, and government officials blamed Aristide militants and a new campaign called "Operation Baghdad."

Aristide, a former priest, returned to power in 1994 with military backing from the United States, but fled the country on Feb. 29, 2004 after a deadly three-week revolt led by a street gang and former soldiers.

Dozens of people, including police officers accused of backing Aristide, were killed in the February uprising.

Aristide supporters are demanding his return from exile in South Africa and an end to the "invasion" by foreign troops. U.S. Marines arrived the day Aristide left and were replaced by U.N. peacekeepers in June.

The rebels, who want to reinstate the army Aristide disbanded, have accused the U.N. troops of doing little to stabilize the country. Only about 3,000 of the planned 8,000 peacekeepers have arrived.

The United States accused Aristide loyalists Tuesday of "a systematic campaign to destabilize the interim government and disrupt the efforts of the international community."

U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher urged leaders of Aristide's Lavalas Family to "break with the party's legacy of violence and criminality," saying the interim government represented Haiti's best hope.

In contrast, during the February uprising, the State Department placed much of the blame on the democratically elected, Aristide-led government, then said Aristide should "examine his position carefully" shortly before he stepped down.

Another rebel leader, former soldier Remissainthe Ravix, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he went to the town of Hinche the day before to consult with Jean-Baptiste and select former soldiers to come to Port-au-Prince.

He would not say how many he chose but added "they will work with anyone" — Haitian police or peacekeepers.

"All that matters is that they stop the 'chimeres' and provide security," he said, using the Creole word meaning "angry young men" or "monsters" to describe armed gangsters loyal to Aristide.

Last week, the government said it would integrate some ex-soldiers, including those now fighting as rebels, into security efforts, but it did not clarify their roles.

Aristide supporters immediately renewed demands that rebels be disarmed.

Two weeks ago, Remissainthe's men tried to enter the flood-ravaged northwestern city of Gonaives but were turned away by U.N. peacekeepers, who said they must disarm first. The city was flooded by Tropical Storm Jeanne, and hundreds of thousands of people remain homeless.

Street gangs and storm survivors in Gonaives were looting U.N. food convoys and rioting at food distribution points.

The violence in Port-au-Prince has slowed shipments of food aid and caused the Brazilian-led peacekeepers to redeploy from Gonaives.

CARE, an international humanitarian organization, suspended emergency food distributions for two days last week.

"We have enough food in Gonaives to meet needs for only four or five days," said Abby Maxman, Haiti's CARE director. "We're already cutting back deliveries to conserve the supply, and we might have to consider suspending them if the security situation doesn't improve."

At an empty street market in Port-au-Prince, Marie Joseph blamed the United States for the lack of security.

"They drove out the Lavalas government, and nothing has changed," said Joseph, 36, who hoped to sell a bowl of cherries.

"President Bush said he'd provide security, but he's getting soldiers killed in Iraq and now he's letting people get decapitated in our country."