HAITI: Haitian rebel leader Mr Guy Philippe said yesterday his forces would lay down their arms and would no longer patrol the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Mr Philippe, speaking at a news conference outside the Haitian capital, said he had made the decision because international security forces were moving to disarm supporters of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in the city.
"We have decided to lay down our arms," said Mr Philippe, who on Tuesday announced that he was chief of the military and police. The rebel leader and his forces drove the former president into exile on Sunday.
Earlier, rebels patrolled the streets of the capital yesterday while US and other foreign forces held the airport and National Palace in an uneasy standoff.
US Marines had not begun street patrols of the capital despite a pledge to increase their presence after Mr Philippe declared himself Haiti's military chief and his men spread out in Port-au-Prince frisking people for weapons.
It was claimed last night that Mr Aristide, who is in the Central African Republic, had had his telephone lines cut and was seeking permission from the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, to address the general assembly.
With government ministers in hiding and no president at the palace, Prime Minister Yvon Neptune said Haiti was running "as best as it can at the moment".
"There is no legislature. The ministers are in hiding. I am in my office but my latitude to function is severely curtailed," he said in a telephone interview from his office.
Elsewhere, Mr Philippe was making himself at home. He declared he was "military chief" of Haiti's security forces, including the rebel forces and the Haitian National Police. The rebels, whose leaders include convicted murderer Louis Jodel Chamblain, forged a swift alliance with the police after routing them in a march through cities and towns in the north that began on February 5th.
The rebels were yesterday still celebrating their victory over Mr Aristide, who they accused of human rights violations and corruption.
The rebels may soon be joined by a figure from Haiti's dark past - deposed dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier, known as Baby Doc (his late father being Papa Doc) says he wants to return as soon as possible. The Duvalier family were kept in power for three decades by the hated Ton Ton Macoutes, a private militia band of thugs who murdered and maimed at will, and are estimated to have looted Haiti of $500 million.
Baby Doc Duvalier said on Monday that he had requested a diplomatic passport several weeks ago, although he said he did not plan to run for president.
The US is working with some prominent Haitians to build a new administration.
More than 1,000 US troops were in Haiti as part of a multinational force that is expected to grow to around 5,000. French and Canadian troops are also in Haiti in the UN-backed initiative to restore order in a state that has suffered more than 30 coups.
The rebels tried to arrest Mr Neptune yesterday but were headed off by US forces.
Meanwhile in the Central African Republic, Mr Aristide continues to insist that he was in effect kidnapped and forcibly removed from Haiti by the US rather than, as Washington maintains, departing willingly to avoid further bloodshed.
Mr Ira Kurzban, a lawyer who represents the former president, said Mr Aristide and his wife had been kidnapped and taken by force and were not told where they were going until they arrived in Central African Re- public.