Rebels agree to US demand to disarm
At least three people were killed in downtown Port-au-Prince when police tried to re-establish control in the La Saline slum, a bastion of gangs loyal to fallen president Jean Bertrand Aristide.
US Marines and French forces later patrolled the streets in light armoured vehicles to prevent a resurgence of killing, looting and arson that erupted after Mr Aristide's flight into exile on Sunday.
Rebel leader Guy Philippe bowed to pressure and agreed to disarm his men after obtaining what he said were security guarantees in a meeting with the commander of the international force, US Marine Colonel Mark Gurganus.
Emboldened by his rapturous welcome on entering the capital, Mr Philippe on Tuesday had refused to lay down their weapons until pro-Aristide gangs, or "chimeres" were also disarmed.
The rebels had also threatened to arrest Mr Neptune, a close Mr Aristide ally who remains temporarily in office pending the establishment of a new government under an internationally backed power sharing plan. He has been guarded by US Marines since rebels threatened to arrest him on Tuesday.
Mr Neptune declared a national state of emergency on Wednesday in part because of the continuing clashes. Officials said the measure means that certain constitutional guarantees would be suspended.
Mr Neptune said vandalism and looting had caused €300 million in damage largely blamed on Aristide supporters and announced the creation of a commission to co-ordinate national security until a new government is installed.
Mr Aristide's successor, interim president Boniface Alexandre, named Haitian Coast Guard boss Leonce Charles to be the new national police chief.
The US embassy asked Col Gurganus to meet with Philippe to demand he stand down.
A diplomatic source said Col Gurganus delivered "an extremely blunt message" to Mr Philippe, repeating the US position that he and his forces have no place in Haiti's political future and that they should honour a pledge to disarm now that Mr Aristide was gone.
Col Gurganus later told reporters at his headquarters at Toussaint Louverture International Airport that the 10-minute meeting with Mr Philippe had been polite.
"I was very happy with his responses," he said, standing alongside French commander Colonel Daniel Leplatois. "I think he is a man of honour and he will do what he said."
The US and French colonels announced the start of the security patrols.
On the airport tarmac some of the 1,100 US Marines and 600 French troops now in Haiti the vanguard of a UN-authorised multinational stabilisation force unloaded equipment from military aircraft. US and French forces also took up positions outside the presidential palace next to Port-au-Prince's main police station and the former army headquarters, where the rebels had held court before huge, chanting crowds for the past two days.
Col Gurganus and Col Leplatois said their troops were not charged with arresting or disarming any of the forces, and would open fire only if attacked or were in danger. On the streets, many pedestrians and motorists were indifferent to the foreign troops and military vehicles equipped with gun turrets, mounted machine guns and, in some cases, missile launchers.
Some, however, smiled and waved at the soldiers who returned the greetings.
Heavy traffic resumed in the capital and tension had noticeably eased since Mr Aristide's departure, which remained mired in controversy after the former president publicly accused US forces of kidnapping him. As stability haltingly returned to Haiti, commercial airline services flights resumed to Port-au-Prince after nearly a week's suspension, and the first humanitarian flight in weeks arrived from the UN Children's Fund.
