Caribbean states call for U.N. force in Haiti
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A passenger-filled truck drives around a burning tire Wednesday in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
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As his supporters rally against possible rebel attack, Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide vows to hold on.
CNN's Lucia Newman says the port city of St. Marc, Haiti, has closed roads against possible rebel attack
U.S. Coast Guard vessels intercept a freighter carrying Haitians off the coast of Florida.
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(CNN) -- Caribbean countries called on the United Nations Thursday to dispatch a multinational force to restore order in Haiti, with Jamaica's foreign minister warning that a humanitarian crisis and "sheer anarchy and chaos" are imminent.
Speaking on behalf of Caribbean Community nations, Foreign Minister K.D. Knight told the Security Council that "direct and immediate intervention" is required to preserve democracy and avert a humanitarian crisis.
U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte repeated the Bush administration's position that Washington would support a multinational force only to help implement a political settlement.
But Knight said the spreading violent revolt against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide has led to a "completely different" situation from the political crisis between Aristide and his opponents.
"The situation is one of utmost urgency, and the need for decisive action is paramount," Knight said. "The immediate need now is for the Security Council to authorize the urgent deployment of a multinational force to assist in the restoration of law and order."
Haiti's U.N. ambassador said the death toll in the revolt is now about 60, and the country faces "an abyss of civil war."
The violence spurred American Airlines Thursday to suspend flights to Port-au-Prince until March 3.
Knight criticized Aristide's political opposition for rejecting a settlement offered by Caribbean nations and backed by the United States and France. Haiti's opposition has demanded that Aristide step down as part of any agreement.
"It is impossible to make meaningful progress unless both sides are willing to play their part," he said. "The fact is that there are some steps which the president cannot take alone, as they require participation from the opposition and other stakeholders."
As rebels threatened to march on Haiti's capital, a senior U.S. State Department official suggested that Aristide's resignation was an increasing possibility.
"We are coming around to the belief that there needs to be a way out of the impasse that allows a government to unfold and take power," the official said late Wednesday. "We are looking at all of the options."
The official acknowledged there were provisions in Haiti's constitution for the president to step down and a transfer of power to take place.
Rebel leader Guy Philippe threatened late Wednesday to send his forces after Aristide, The Associated Press reported. "We're going straight for the National Palace where we're going to arrest Aristide," Philippe said in a call to Radio Vision 2000 in Port-au-Prince, the capital, the AP reported. "It will be over very soon."
Philippe was calling from the rebel-held city of Cap Haitien in the north, the AP said.
The rebels are led by former members of the army, which Aristide disbanded 10 years ago.
Haitian migrants called 'hijackers'
President Bush has warned Haitians against trying to flee their nation for the United States, saying they would be returned to their homeland.
Haitian migrants aboard a detained freighter off the Florida coast should be treated as "hijackers," Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Thursday. He called on the federal government to send them back to Haiti. (Full story)
"They should be sent back to Haiti," he said. "They hijacked a boat, a large vessel, and unless they have a well-founded fear of persecution that is specific and meets the criteria of our laws, they should be sent back."
The Coast Guard says 17 Haitian migrants are aboard the Panamanian-flagged cargo ship Margot, which was held about seven miles off the coast after its captain reported a "security situation" aboard the vessel Wednesday afternoon.
Immigration agents were interviewing the Haitians aboard the vessel Thursday.
The Pentagon has said all Haitians intercepted at sea will be returned to Haiti.
On Wednesday, the Coast Guard intercepted a ship off the coast of Haiti and transferred about 125 Haitians to Coast Guard vessels, a Pentagon official said.
In addition, the Coast Guard is monitoring several other small boats off the coast of Haiti that are believed to have about 250 Haitians on board, the official said.
'Humanitarian corridor' proposed
In Washington, the head of the Congressional Black Caucus called for the United States and its allies to secure a "humanitarian corridor" in Haiti to allow relief agencies to provide food and water.
"We believe 300 to 400 troops going in there, along with our allies, could bring about the peace," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland. "There is controversy about whether Mr. Aristide should stay or go, but the fact is you are not even going to be able to do a new and peaceful election unless we bring some type of order."
Cummings and other African-American lawmakers met with President Bush on Wednesday, urging him to "move a lot faster" to find a solution.
"We need to act as fast as we can to create that diplomatic resolution so that we will not have this problem," Cummings said.
The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to meet on the Haitian situation Thursday afternoon at the request of Jamaica, current head of the 15-nation Caribbean Community.
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There has been widespread looting throughout Haiti.
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Aristide has faced criticism since an election in 2000 that observers called fraudulent. Opposition parties accuse his supporters of using violence to intimidate them.
About 41,000 Haitians fled the country after a 1991 coup ousted Aristide. The former Roman Catholic priest was restored to power in 1994 amid the threat of U.S. military intervention.
CNN's Lucia Newman, Elise Labott, Jamie McIntyre, Susan Candiotti, Richard Phillips, Allison Flexner and John King contributed to this report.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
