UN approves Haiti security force

Aristide opponents celebrated his departure

The UN Security Council has voted unanimously to authorise a multinational military force for Haiti.

A small group of US marines has arrived and will be followed by a larger force, including French and Canadian troops.

A curfew has been imposed in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and the city is reported calmer overnight, after a day of chaos, violence and looting.

Former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide has reached the Central African Republic after fleeing Haiti on Sunday.

A government official in the CAR capital, Bangui, said Mr Aristide was stopping over for a few days before travelling on to South Africa, where he would seek asylum.

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But there has been no confirmation from the South African authorities that they are offering to shelter Mr Aristide.

Earlier Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso said Panama had agreed to a US request to give Mr Aristide asylum.

But Costa Rica, which had also offered him temporary political asylum, said the ousted president decided to go to Africa instead.

'Hour of need'

All 15 members of the Security Council voted in favour of the emergency resolution on Haiti, which authorises the immediate deployment of the force for up to three months to restore security and stability.

There have been reports of revenge attacks in the anarchy of Port-au-Prince

During that period, a UN peacekeeping force will be established and deployed.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said that the world had not forgotten the people of Haiti.

"We understand their need and we are standing by them in their hour of need," he said.

As the first of an expected 200 US marines flew into the capital, Port-au-Prince, President George W Bush urged Haitians to "reject violence to give this break from the past a chance to work".

Rebel leader Guy Philippe, who had been massing his men for an assault on the capital, welcomed the foreign intervention, saying the time for fighting was over.

"We just want peace," he told the BBC.

He said he was making his way to Port-au-Prince, where his fighters would help impose security, and he denied that he had any political ambitions "for now".

Fury and joy

Sunday night's curfew brought some calm to the capital, after a day of anarchy and violence in the wake of the president's departure.

A BBC correspondent in the city says two petrol stations have been burned down, and prisoners have been released from the national jail.

Looting was widespread and, for the first time, militants loyal to Guy Philippe have been seen on the streets.

Looting has been widespread

Our correspondent says they have been hunting down Mr Aristide's supporters, with some evidence of vengeance killings.

The elderly head of Haiti's Supreme Court, Boniface Alexandre, has been sworn in as caretaker president, as stipulated by the constitution.

In a statement as he left, Mr Aristide said: "The constitution should not drown in the blood of the Haitian people... If my resignation is to prevent bloodshed, I accept to leave."

The escalating violent protests stemmed from disputed elections in 2000, which the opposition says were rigged.

In the past three weeks rebels have taken control of much of the country; and recently law and order broke down completely in the capital.

It is the second time Mr Aristide has been forced into exile. He was ousted in 1991 in a coup within months of becoming Haiti's first democratically elected leader

He was restored to power three years later by a US-led military intervention.