Killing, looting and arson sprees remained unabated in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on Wednesday even after rebel leader Guy Philippe's announcement thathis fighters had been ordered to lay down their weapons.
FIGHTING RAGES ON IN PORT-AU-PRINCE
Heavy gun battles erupted between rebels and supporters of former president Jean Bertrand Aristide in the slum neighborhood of the capital, which was also plagued by looting and arson, reports reaching here said.
At least seven people had been killed and 15 official residences had been burned down or looted since rebels led violentdemonstrations in the Haitian capital Tuesday.
On Wednesday, one was killed in Sarthe, a city north of Port-au-Prince, and two Aristide's supporters were murdered in the city ofSaint Marc.
Another sympathizer of the toppled president was killed in the southern town of Petit-Goave, where barricades were set up in the streets by rebels.
Haitian Prime Minister Yvon Neptune said Wednesday that the country was in the state of anarchy. He estimated that the damage caused by looting so far stood at 300 million US dollars.
At a press conference, the prime minister termed the rebels as armed gangs that were trying to seed fears among Haitians despite Aristide's departure.
Aristide fled into exile to the Central African Republic Sundayafter armed rebels took control of the country's most important cities and months of political turmoil that wrecked the Caribbean nation.
REBEL LEADER PLEDGES TO DISARM
Guy Philippe, who led the overthrow of Aristide, pledged on Wednesday that his forces would hand over their weapons and stop patrolling the streets in the capital.
"Since President Aristide has gone and there are foreign troopswho are going to guarantee security, we have no intention of taking power with weapons. We thought it would be best for the Haitian people to lay down our arms," he said.
The rebel leader also vowed to put the arms at the disposition of the new government led by interim President Boniface Alexandre.
Philippe's announcement came after a meeting between him and a US Marines commander.
As part of a multinational peacekeeping force to help restore peace and order in Haiti, US Marines on Wednesday continued to move into key positions and patrolled the streets in Port-au-Prince.
The United States had warned Philippe that there would be no place for him in Haiti's political future and advised him to cast away his ambition to fill the power vacuum in post-Aristide Haiti.
Meanwhile, interim President Alexandre on Wednesday urged all parties in the country to set aside their political differences for national reconciliation.
He said in a radio broadcast that he wished to unite all the citizens because he was the "president of all the Haitians."
Alexandre, the former head of the Supreme Court, was sworn in as the head of state after Aristide resigned Sunday.
He also appointed Leon Charles as the director of Haitian police to replace Jocelyne Pierre and stressed that the new chief would be in charge of gathering all the law enforcement forces andgiving trust back to Haitians.
CARIBBEAN NATIONS CALL FOR INDEPENDENT PROBE INTO ARISTIDE'S RESIGNATION
Jamaican Prime Minister Percival Patterson, who is also the President of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), suggested on Wednesday that an "independent" probe be launched into former Haitian President Aristide's resignation.
On Monday, Aristide accused the United States of forcing him out of office in a "coup d'etat."
He told the Cable News Network in an interview from the CentralAfricanRepublic that Washington "forced" him to leave the country after abloody rebellion.
However, the White House and Pentagon dismissed allegations that Aristide was kidnapped by US forces eager for him to resign and flee into exile.
"There are contradictory reports on the circumstances of the resignation and departure of President Aristide," Patterson told the press after a two-day emergency meeting in the Jamaican capital of Kingston with other Caribbean leaders.
"From what we heard publicly and from what we have known privately, we agree that the situation must be looked into. We believe this must be done under the protection of an independent international body like the United Nations," said Patterson.
The CARICOM considered it necessary and vital to aid Haiti in its long-term needs and they would contribute to a UN "stabilization force."
He anticipated that CARICOM leaders would meet on March 25-26 in the San Cristobal island to issue a report on Haiti, adding that the bloc was "very alarmed and upset for the situation in Haiti and the consequences of constitutional democracy" in the country.
Haiti is a member of the CARICOM, a 15-nation political and economic bloc founded in 1973. The group brokered a power-sharing deal that would have allowed Aristide to remain as head of state, but the plan was rejected by rebels and his opponents.
