PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Feb. 29 (UPI) -- A small group of U.S. Marines landed at Haiti's Port-au-Prince airport Sunday evening hours after the ouster of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
President Bush on Sunday ordered the Marines to the country as part of a multinational interim force. A small contingent of Canadian troops is reported to be already in the city.
The contingent of about 100 Marines that landed Sunday is expected to secure key facilities as a beachhead for international peacekeeping force.
"I have ordered the deployment of Marines, as the leading element of an interim international force, to help bring order and stability to Haiti," Bush said Sunday afternoon, speaking from the White House grounds. "I have done so in working with the international community.
"This government believes it essential that Haiti have a hopeful future. ... I would urge the people of Haiti to reject violence, to give this break from the past a chance to work. And the United States is prepared to help," he said.
Bush's comments come as Aristide capitulated to rebel groups and resigned the presidency.
The interim leader of Haiti is the Caribbean nation's Supreme Court Chief Justice Boniface Alexandre.
