Aristide Loyalists Set Buildings on Fire

From News Services

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Dec. 17 -- In an attempted coup, gunmen stormed the National Palace early today and killed six people, including two police officers,
before police recaptured the building and killed one of the gunmen. Government supporters retaliated by burning down the homes and offices of opposition leaders.

Hundreds of supporters of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, wielding machetes and sticks, surrounded the National Palace after the attack, shouting, "We'll never
accept another coup d'etat." Flaming tire barricades burned on several corners in the capital.

Aristide, a former Roman Catholic priest who is Haiti's first democratically elected president, and his wife were unharmed in their home in Tabarre, about three miles
from the palace, said spokesman Jacques Maurice. The president went to the palace hours after the assault and, in a speech broadcast to the nation, asked Haitians
to be vigilant.

"We have thwarted the coup," Aristide said. He added: "It is time to be patriots; the nation is in danger. I thank the population and the police for defending
democracy."

Officials said that 33 armed gunmen stormed the palace before dawn. The attackers were dressed in military uniforms, said the chief of palace security, Oriel Jean
Baptiste.

There was no official word on the affiliation of the gunmen, but suspicion fell on members of the army, which was disbanded after a U.S. intervention in 1994 that
restored Aristide to power following his ousting in an earlier coup.

The attack took place against a background of growing unrest in the impoverished country of 7 million, which has a history of political violence but has been relatively
stable under Aristide's rule.

However, anti-government sentiment has been rising, a dispute with the opposition has held up desperately needed international aid, and rumors of a possible coup
have been swirling.

Aristide was first elected president in 1990 and stayed in power only eight months before the army ousted him in a coup that began on Sept. 30, 1991. He was
restored to power in 1994 by U.S. troops, but a term limit forced him to step down in 1996. He began a second term in February after winning a disputed election in
2000.

In apparent retribution for the palace attack, Aristide supporters torched the headquarters of the Convergence opposition alliance in the capital as well as the
headquarters of three alliance groups. Aristide supporters also burned down the home of opposition leader Luc Mesadieu in northern Gonaives. There were no
reported injuries.

They also ransacked the French Institute, a cultural center in Port-au-Prince run by the French government. Aristide has accused foreign governments of "economic
terrorism" because they suspended aid when questions were raised about the integrity of last year's elections. France is among the donors that have suspended aid.

Before attacking the National Palace, the gunmen attempted to attack the national penitentiary, but they were repelled. The gunmen then moved on to the palace,
lobbing a grenade at the building at about 2 a.m., then opening fire as they entered, Maurice said.

A pickup truck, apparently carrying some of the gunmen, sped out of the palace grounds and escaped, national radio reported. The men in the truck shot and killed
two passersby as they fled, witnesses said.

A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the attackers identified their leader as the former police chief of northern Cap-Haitien city, Guy
Philippe, who fled to neighboring Dominican Republic last year with seven police officers accused of plotting a coup. Philippe called the Associated Press from the
Dominican Republic to deny involvement in the attack.

The violence prompted the U.S. Embassy to close its doors and to urge Americans in Haiti to stay home. Airlines canceled flights to the island.

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