Posted on 03/01/2004 9:12:53 AM PST by Pikamax
US Marines, French troops start Haiti peacekeeping mission
PORT-AU-PRINCE : Several hundred US Marines and French troops arrived in Haiti to restore order as exiled president Jean Bertrand Aristide sought temporary refuge in the Central African Republic.
More than 300 troops were on the ground, while US Secretary of State Colin Powell said a total of 1,000 US troops eventually would be in Haiti.
Advertisement
"US forces have been sent to secure key sights in the capital for the purpose of establishing peace and security and help promote the constitutional and political process," said Colonel Dave Berger, who commands the US Marines contingent.
"We're here to create conditions for the anticipated arrival of a UN multinational force," he said Monday.
A first Marine contingent took up combat positions at Port-au-Prince airport just before the UN Security Council Sunday authorized the deployment of a multinational force in Haiti for up to three months.
More US troops arrived later in the night, bringing to more than 200 the total number of Marines currently in Haiti.
At dawn Monday, dozens of French troops joined the US forces at the airport, which a small team of Canadian Special Forces had secured on Sunday for the evacuation of foreign nationals seeking to leave the crisis-wracked country. A total of 130 French troops were expected on Monday.
Powell said the US contingent would be a far cry from the 20,000 troops deployed a decade ago to chase a military junta from Haiti and bring back Aristide from an earlier exile.
"I don't have a specific number I'd like to give this morning, but it's in the hundreds, maybe a little more than a thousand or so," he told NBC television.
"It is not a large force, joined by international forces from a number of nations that have already indicated they want to make a contribution," the chief US diplomat said.
French authorities said they too were sending more forces.
Berger said the Marines would deploy "sooner rather than later" from the airport, where they set up a command and control center.
The French planned to move into the city later Monday, heading first to the French embassy and the ambassador's residence. "After that, it depends on circumstances," said Lieutenant Colonel Louis Acacio, of the French Antilles Army.
"There will be coordination between the various forces," said French Ambassador Thierry Burkard, who was on hand to welcome the French troops at the airport.
Aristide resigned and flew out from the same airport with US help on Sunday morning, under pressure from a mounting insurrection and abandoned by the international community.
Aristide's departure "was the result of perfect co-ordination" between Washington and Paris, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said.
The exiled president and his wife were expected to stay in the Central African Republic for a few days. A government official said they would then head to South Africa, but authorities in Pretoria said they Aristide had not yet contacted them to request asylum.
In his first public comments since he left Haiti, Aristide said in a radio broadcast in Bangui that the rebels who forced him to flee had "chopped down he tree of peace, but it will grow again."
His departure sparked a rampage in the streets of Port-au-Prince by angry pro-Aristide gangs armed with guns and machetes. At least 12 deaths and many more injuries were reported.
Widespread looting targeted warehouses and banks, as well as Aristide's residence in the capital. Mobs ran through the streets carrying televisions, food or even suitcases of banknotes.
But police eventually gained control of the situation and imposed a dusk-till-dawn curfew that appeared to have been widely respected, with just sporadic firing into the night.
Aristide's constitutional successor, Supreme Court chief Boniface Alexandre, 68, urged an end to the violence that has left scores dead since former members of the Haitian armed forces began an insurrection almost a month ago in the northern city of Gonaives.
Aristide's political foes said they were pleased with developments and top rebel leader Guy Philippe said his forces, who have seized much of the country and surrounded Port-au-Prince, were ready to lay down their weapons.
Philippe said he may enter the capital, and a group of some 25 men who said they were armed insurgents Sunday joined police in patrolling the city.
- AFP
Dubya sure seems to like the idea of nation-building, doesn't he?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.