Haiti's opposition rejects peace plan

Aristide, who has accepted the plan that would have him share power with his political rivals, appealed to the world for urgent help and warned of a rising death toll if rebels try to take the capital. So far, at least 70 people have been killed in the three-week uprising, about 40 of them police officers.

"Should those killers come to Port-au-Prince, you may have thousands of people who may be killed," Aristide said. "We need the presence of the international community as soon as possible."

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France's UN Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said diplomats were considering proposing "a police force, or a civilian force" for approval by the UN Security Council.

The United States also may seek a UN Security Council resolution authorising dispatch of international peacekeepers to Haiti if a settlement between government and opposition forces is reached, a US official said Tuesday.

Britain and Australia, meanwhile, urged their citizens to get out of Haiti, following similar warnings from the United States, France and Mexico. There are about 30,000 foreigners in the former French colony, 20,000 of them Americans.

Last-ditch efforts by US Secretary of State Colin Powell did not save the peace plan because the Democratic Platform coalition said Aristide must step down if Haiti is to have peace.

The plan would have kept Aristide as president, but with diminished powers and a shared government.

"We sent our position (paper) and a signed letter saying 'No' to the proposal," opposition leader Paul Denis told The Associated Press.