PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - A contingent of Marines landed in Port-au-Prince to restore order after Jean Bertrand-Aristide resigned as president and left for exile in Africa under pressure from the Bush administration and a rebel uprising.

The fewer than 100 Marines that arrived Sunday night took up defensive positions around the capital's airport to prepare for the arrival of French forces and additional American troops. Three Humvees and three large trucks guarded the airport.

Early today, U.S. and French officers worked together to prepare for the arrival of the full multinational force approved late Sunday by the U.N. Security Council. Nearly 300 soldiers and police were headed for Haiti today.

Aristide, accompanied by his wife and three other people, arrived in the Central African Republic today for what will be at least temporary asylum, said Communications Minister Parfait Mbaye.

Their departure from Haiti was secured by U.S. forces at Aristide's request, U.S. officials said.

Shortly after arriving in the Central African Republic, Aristide gave a brief address to Central African Republic state radio - his first public comments since leaving Haiti.

"In overthrowing me, they cut down the tree of peace," the exiled leader declared. "But it will grow again, because the roots are well-planted."

Haiti's first democratically elected president, who was pressured to leave by the United States and the rebels, would travel next to South Africa, according to state radio and a senior Caribbean Community official.

South Africa, however, did not confirm the reports. "We are still not aware that he is coming here. I would have thought by now we would have known if he was," presidential spokesman Bheki Khumalo said in Johannesburg.

Back in Haiti, the U.S. troops came to prop up the new government headed by Boniface Alexandre, the chief justice of Haiti's Supreme Court. A second contingent of Marines was to arrive today.

"This is the beginning of a new chapter," President Bush said at the White House. "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."

After word spread of the president's departure, angry Aristide supporters roamed the streets armed with old rifles, pistols, machetes and sticks. Some fired wildly into crowds on the Champs de Mars, the main square in front of the National Palace.

A key rebel leader said he welcomed the arrival of foreign troops.

"I think the worst is over, and we're waiting for the international forces. They will have our full cooperation," Guy Philippe told CNN.

The crisis has been brewing since Aristide's party swept flawed legislative elections in 2000, prompting international donors to freeze millions of dollars in aid.

Opponents also accused Aristide of breaking promises to help the poor, allowing corruption fueled by drug trafficking and masterminding attacks on opponents by armed gangs - charges the president denied.

The discontent erupted into violence 3½ weeks ago as rebels began driving police from towns and cities in the north.

Though not aligned with rebels, the political opposition had pushed for Aristide to leave for the good of Haiti's 8 million people, angered by poverty, corruption and crime. The uprising killed at least 100 people.

Anarchy reigned for most of the day in the capital, Port-au-Prince. More than 3,000 inmates held in the National Penitentiary were released. Looters emptied a police station and hit pharmacies, supermarkets and other businesses, mostly on the capital's outskirts.

"Chop off their heads and burn their homes," rioters screamed, echoing the war cry of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the general who ousted French troops and torched plantations to end slavery in Haiti.

Some anti-Aristide militants organized armed posses that prowled the streets in pickup trucks, searching for Aristide supporters.

Police moved in during the afternoon, dispersing the crowd in front of the National Palace, and the violence ebbed.

James Voltaire, 28, said Haiti's constitution had been violated. "Whoever the president is, it's going to be a losing situation. As long as we don't see our real president (Aristide) we will stay mobilized," he warned.

Aristide and his wife, Mildred Trouillot Aristide, sent their two daughters to her mother in New York City last week.

Three hours after Aristide's departure, Alexandre, the chief justice, declared he was taking control of the government as called for by the constitution. He urged calm.

"The task will not be an easy one," said Alexandre. "Haiti is in crisis. ... It needs all its sons and daughters. No one should take justice into their own hands."

Alexandre has a reputation for honesty but could face a legal obstacle: The Haitian constitution calls for parliament to approve him as leader, and the legislature has not met since early this year when lawmakers' terms expired.

It was the second time Aristide, a 50-year-old former slum pastor, has fled his country. In 1991 he was ousted just months after being elected president for the first time.