Aristide Heads Back to the Caribbean

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti —  French troops took over patrols Sunday in a slum where U.S. Marines -- under fire -- had killed at least two people and angered residents demanding the return of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Aristide, meanwhile, left the Central African Republic on a private jet bound for Jamaica despite the objections of U.S. and Haitian officials. He was expected to arrive in Jamaica today.

Asked if he wanted to return to power, the former Haitian president was elusive.

“For the time being, I’m listening to my people,” Aristide said before boarding the plane. “The more we listen to them, the more we serve them, the more we will know what to do at the right time.

“We all have to do what we can to promote peace,” he said.

Aristide’s decision to go back to the Caribbean has increased tensions in Haiti, where his followers plan more protests to demand his return.

Sunday was calm in Port-au-Prince as girls wearing bows and men in ties filled churches and visited with family.

“We pray that a spirit of commerce returns to the country, and we pray that our community can now be based on justice and freedom,” the Rev. Chancy Crierlain told hundreds of parishioners at the Roman Catholic cathedral.

French soldiers patrolled La Saline, a gritty seaside slum like many where Aristide still commands support and where resentment and anger brewed after U.S. Marines shot and killed two men in a fierce firefight on Friday.

The Marines said the two were gunmen, though no weapons were recovered. Residents said those killed were not armed or militant.

U.S. Marine Maj. Richard Crusan said the French presence was part of a normal rotation.

“French and U.S. Marines have both been patrolling throughout Port-au-Prince,” he said.

“It’s not a change,” he said.

U.S. troops have been attacked several times and shot and killed at least six Haitians last week, although Marines reported a peaceful Saturday night.

The French, who have yet to come under fire in Haiti, have an easier time communicating with Haitians, who generally speak Creole or French. Marines have been shouting commands at Haitians in English.