26 February 2004	Thursday	05 Muharram 1425

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Feb 25: Armed gangs built flaming barricades in the Haitian capital on Wednesday as Port-au-Prince deteriorated into chaos before an expected rebel advance that sent foreigners fleeing the country.

Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is trying to fend off a bloody 3-week-old revolt against his presidency by insurgents including a former death squad leader and a former senior police officer.

In Washington, US President George W. Bush said the deteriorating situation in Haiti may require an international security presence, once a political settlement is reached.

Such a settlement did not look imminent. Masked men loyal to Mr Aristide cut off streets in Port-au-Prince with piles of wrecked cars, rusted appliances, rocks and tires and questioned motorists trying to pass as the capital readied for a rebel assault promised within days.

Opposition leaders said two car dealerships were ransacked and restaurants were robbed. They blamed the violence on Mr Aristide, renewing their pledge they would not agree to any deal that did not include the president's resignation.

"People today in Port-au-Prince are being stopped by well-armed and hooded civilians and are terrorized," opposition leader Charles Baker said. "Money has to be given to go through checkpoints. And if they find any of us, (referring to Aristide's political foes) God knows what would happen."

With insurgents in control of Haiti's second-largest city, Cap Haitien, and a series of towns across the north, Mr Aristide has said thousands could die if the rebels are allowed to reach teeming Port-au-Prince.

Mr Aristide's political opponents - who have distanced themselves from the armed revolt but share its aim of getting the president out - on Tuesday rejected a US-backed deal brokered by diplomats. Under the proposal, Mr Aristide would give up some of his powers and form a new government.

More than 60 people have died in the poor Caribbean country in clashes that began on Feb. 5 when the rebels, a collection of gangs and former soldiers, began the revolt by overrunning the western city of Gonaives. -Reuters