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Haitian capital descends into chaos as rebels near

Rebels pushed to within 40km of Haiti's capital Friday and chaos spread as militants loyal to President Jean-Bertrand Aristide torched barricades, hijacked cars, looted and attacked the capital's sole operating hospital.

President Jean-Bertrand Aristide said he would not step down, even as the US urged him to cede power.

Some 2,200 US Marines were put on alert as Pentagon officials weighed the possibility of sending troops to waters off Haiti to guard against any flood of refugees and to protect the estimated 20,000 Americans in the country.

But Aristide insisted "I have the responsibility as an elected president to stay where I am."

"My life is linked to 8 million people," he said, pleading for a small contingent of foreign peacekeepers to protect Haiti's democracy.

But the international community, led by the US, France and Canada, has been demanding Haiti's government and opposition reach a political settlement before they will intervene.

A senior US official said the Bush administration has concluded that the best way to prevent the insurgents from seizing control is for Aristide to transfer power to Supreme Court Chief Justice Boniface Alexandre, his constitutional successor. In a country where jurists are known for corruption, he is respected for his honesty.

"We urgently call upon President Aristide to issue the necessary instructions so his supporters stop this violence," the US Embassy said Friday night, adding that "his honor, legacy and reputation are now at stake." The US government urged all Americans still in Haiti to seek safe haven.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned Haiti's leaders and those aspiring to leadership "that they will be held individually accountable for any breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law."

His statement came as Aristide militants were attacking the private Canape Vert hospital that is the only hospital still operating in Port-au-Prince.

Radio stations said the militants were searching for opponents. Among patients was a journalist shot in northern Cap-Haitien on Saturday, accused of sympathizing with the rebels who seized the second-largest of Haiti's cities last Sunday.

All the hospital telephone lines rang busy Friday night and it was too dangerous to drive there. Submachine gunfire rang out at one point and three green military helicopters hovered over Petionville, the hillside suburb where the hospital is located.

"The US government is discouraged to report that pro-government groups have begun to burn, pillage and kill," said the US Embassy statement. "Even the hospital is under attack by armed gangs spreading terror ... who are acting in the name of Jean-Bertrand Aristide."
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