French replace Marines in patrols of Haiti slum

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- French troops took over patrols yesterday in a slum where US Marines -- under fire -- killed at least two people and angered residents demanding the return of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Aristide, meanwhile, left the Central African Republic on a private jet bound for Jamaica despite the objections of US and Haitian officials. He was expected to arrive in Jamaica today.

Asked whether he wanted to return to power, Aristide was elusive.

"For the time being, I'm listening to my people," he said before boarding the plane. "The more we listen to them, the more we serve them, the more we will know what to do at right time."

"We all have to do what we can to promote peace," he added.

Aristide's decision to return to the Caribbean has increased tensions in Haiti, where his followers plan more protests to demand his return.

During a brief visit Saturday, the top US military commander, General Richard B. Myers, warned Haitians to lay down their weapons.

"The multinational security forces will not tolerate violence against our forces or against Haitian civilians," he said. "Those causing violence will be dealt with appropriately."

US-led peacekeepers say they have a new mission to help Haitian police disarm the general population.

Yesterday was calm in Port-au-Prince as girls with bows and men in ties filled churches and visited with family.

French soldiers patrolled La Saline, a gritty seaside slum like many where Aristide still commands support and where resentment and anger brewed after Marines shot and killed two men in a fierce firefight Friday. The Marines said the two were gunmen, though no weapons were recovered. Residents said those killed were not armed or militant.

US Marine Major Richard Crusan said the French presence was part of a normal rotation.

But one young French trooper, who identified himself only as Sergeant Jean-Michel, said his group had just come from Ivory Coast and had more experience in peacekeeping than the Americans. "I'm afraid things could get bad for the Americans. They have sensitive fingers on the trigger," he said. "We're more relaxed under fire."

US troops have been attacked several times and have shot and killed at least six Haitians in the past week, although the Marines reported a peaceful Saturday night.

The French, who have not come under fire in Haiti, have an easier time communicating with Haitians, who generally understand only Creole or French.

US troops are also resented by Aristide's supporters because the Haitian leader has contended that the US government forced him from office -- something Washington denies.

Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue has warned Aristide's return to the region could threaten a fragile stability. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told CNN's "Late Edition" that "the hope is that he will not come back into the hemisphere and complicate the situation."

Aristide was to stay eight to 10 weeks in Jamaica while searching for a country of permanent asylum. Jamaican officials said Aristide had been warned not to use the visit to promote his campaign to return to Haiti.

More than 300 people were killed before Aristide left on Feb. 29, according to estimates by the Associated Press and the Pan American Health Organization.