Haiti rebels in control and vow to arrest PM

HAITI'S rebels raised the stakes in the country's crisis by declaring themselves in control of security, refusing to disarm and vowing to arrest Jean Bertrand Aristide.

The United States struggled to stop the rebels from filling the power vacuum left by Aristide's departure by scrambling Marines to protect Prime Minister Yvon Neptune, after nerves were heightened by rebel leader Guy Philippe's comment that he controls Haiti "on a military and police level".

Philippe said his forces would not yield to pressure to disarm until the "chimeres" gangs loyal to the former president are no longer a threat.