A Haitian rebel convoy rolled into a suburb of the capital city of Port-au-Prince Monday morning as hundreds of people ran into the streets to greet them, reports reaching here from the Caribbean country said.

In the Petionville suburb, people lined the street clapping, waving and yelling "Guy Philippe" -- the name of the rebel leader -- and "good job!"

The noisy scene came as the United States and French troops prepared to protect key sites and restore law and order in the country which has been in chaos for almost a month.

Only hours earlier, Haiti's former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide -- who left office Sunday amid pressure from his political opposition, the rebels and from the US and France -- arrived in the Central African Republic where he is expected to stay briefly before continuing his flight into exile.

It was not immediately clear how the rebel force would be greeted by US and French troops who are deploying at diplomatic missions and other sites around the capital.

Philippe earlier said he welcomed the deployment of foreign peacekeepers.

Haiti's crisis has been brewing since Aristide's party won the legislative elections in 2000.

Opponents accused him of winning the election illegally and later of breaking promises to help the poor, allowing corruption fueled by drug trafficking and masterminding attacks on opponents by armed gangs. Aristide denies the charges.

Before going into exile, Aristide had repeatedly pledged that he would not step down before the end of his presidential term in 2006 and that he would fight for the constitution.