Aristide supporters rampage in Haiti

YOUNG gangsters torched cars, fired in the air and terrorised people not far from the presidential palace as violence flared in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.

UN peacekeepers were on high alert as supporters of ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide were expected to demand his return to the Caribbean country.

Today is the 10th anniversary of Aristide’s return from his first exile.

Heavily armed ex-soldiers said yesterday that reinforcements had been arriving from all over the country to help end two weeks of shoot-outs and beheadings in which at least 48 people have been killed.

"We are mobilising, we have started working, carrying out the weapons inspections ourselves, addressing security problems in the city," former major Remissainthe Ravix said. "We want to finish right now."

Haiti is being shepherded by UN peacekeepers. They took over from United States Marines who arrived on February 29, the day Aristide fled a rebellion by ex-soldiers from the army he disbanded in 1995.

Just before sunset the central neighbourhood of Poste Marchard was besieged by men running through the streets, firing shots into the air and burning cars along the road, as drivers and pedestrians scattered.

Fearful people in the neighbourhood said they planned to stay inside today.

Earlier yesterday, officials said, Aristide militants rampaged in Delmas neighbourhood, firing guns into the air and threatening people with machetes.

Haiti’s business leaders, traditional foes of the slum-dwelling supporters of Aristide, called for "a day of protest against terrorism" today and urged all shops and schools to stay shut.