Nations Prepare to Aid Haiti as Aristide Flees

Reuters Limited

A Haitian looter gestures as people rampage through the police station in Petionville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, after Aristide left the country.

Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide steps aside after months of protests and an armed revolt swept his Caribbean nation. International attempts to broker a power-sharing agreement between Aristide and the opposition proved fruitless, leading several nations, including France and the United States, to call for Aristide to bow out.

Looting spread through the capital Sunday, as news of the president's resignation spread. Following the country's constitutional procedure, the chief justice of Haiti's supreme court, Boniface Alexandre, has stepped in to lead the nation.

Haiti remains in disarray as anti-Aristide supporters hold raucous celebrations, even as pro-Aristide groups move to attack those they see as responsible for deposing their leader. U.S. troops are under way to join a multinational force to help stabilize the nation. NPR's Gerry Hadden and NPR's Martin Kaste report.