Haiti Civil Unrest Spirals Out Of Control

We want to think about what could be done in this emergency situation," French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin Tuesday told the state-owned France Inter radio station.

"Could a peace force be deployed?"

The Minister, whose country ruled what is now Haiti in the18 th century, also said the French government was setting up a crisis unit on the situation, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Another Town Falls To Rebels

The French comment came as armed Haitian rebels seized a central town and killed the district police chief while embattled President Jean Bertrand Aristide asked for international help in putting down the fast-spreading uprising.

The latest killings pushed the death toll since February5 , when rebels seized the northern city of Gonaives, to more than55 . The town of some200 , 000remains in rebel hands.

"I have already asked and I will continue to ask the international community and Prime Ministers of the region to move faster on this issue," Aristide told reporters late Monday at the Presidential palace.

He said he was rallying support for an international police force to deploy under the banner of the Organization of American States, in what he called "a fight against terrorism."

In his discussions with regional leaders, Aristide said he had received assurances of unspecified support.

Haiti’s neighbor, Dominican Republic also called on the international community to take action, after it closed its border with Haiti in response to the killing of two Dominican soldiers over the weekend.

The border closing Monday came as the central Haiti town of Hinche, not far from the border, fell to rebels demanding the ouster of Aristide, a former Roman Catholic priest who was first elected President in1991 .

Three people, including police chief Jonas Maxime and his bodyguard, were slain by armed rebels in an attack on a police station in Hinche,130 kilometers ( 80miles) northeast of the capital Port-au-Prince, local radio reports and residents were quoted as saying by AFP.

By nightfall, Hinche, population87 ,000, was in rebel hands, local radio said. Local police retreated to the town of Mirebalais, 55 kilometers ( 35miles) south of Hinche.

Louis Jodel Chamblain led the attack on Hinche’s police station, according to local radio. He was a feared paramilitary leader under former Haitian military dictator Raoul Cedras, who ruled1991 -1994.

State secretary for communications Mario Dupuy said the offensive was conducted by about 40 former members of the military.