International mediators began urgent efforts today to broker an end to political turmoil in Haiti that erupted two weeks ago into an armed revolt in the poor Caribbean country.
US, Canadian, French and regional officials flew into the tense capital, Port-au-Prince, to persuade President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to agree to set up a new government acceptable to the opposition and disarm government gangs.
There appeared to be little optimism for a quick resolution from the discussions.
"I don't think it's realistic to talk about optimism, there's hope, that's all," said a western diplomat of the prospects.
Mr Aristide, a former parish priest once regarded as a champion of democracy in the Americas' poorest country, has been in a deadlock with political opponents since flawed parliamentary elections four years ago.
The president's critics accuse him of becoming a dictator and using political violence to suppress dissent. Mr Aristide made it clear this week he has no intention of leaving, saying he was "willing to die if that is what it takes to defend the country".
Months of street protests, frequently attacked by armed Aristide loyalists, erupted into full revolt on February 5th when an armed gang that once supported the president kicked police out of the city of Gonaives.
The rebellion spread through the northwest and center, killing more than 50 people, including over 20 police.
Yesterday, government supporters armed with guns, rocks and machetes attacked an opposition student march, injuring at least 17 people, as foreigners heeded their governments' advice and fled the country.
Today's talks focused on brokering a deal between Mr Aristide and the political opposition - business leaders, politicians and civil activists whom Mr Aristide dismisses as a wealthy mulatto elite virulently opposed to Haiti being run by its poor, black majority.
But the armed rebels, who have been joined by former soldiers from the disbanded army and a leader of a death squad that terrorized the country during a military dictatorship in the early 1990s, said they might accept such a deal if it meets their demands for Mr Aristide to resign.
The political opposition has also steadfastly clung to a demand that the president step down, a stance that has hampered past negotiations and placed a major obstacle in the way of today's talks.
Mr Aristide first took office in 1991 but was ousted in a coup months later. He was restored to power by a US invasion in 1994, and re-elected to a second term in 2000, but those elections were boycotted by the opposition.