PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Haiti's new prime minister said that disarming militants is his priority as he began cobbling together a government and sought to unite the nation after a popular rebellion.

Gerard Latortue indicated Wednesday he wants to give the Cabinet post for security to another exile and retired army chief of staff who supports recreating Haiti's disgraced army - a key demand of rebels who helped oust President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on Feb. 29.

Getting the guns off the street is also a priority for U.S. Army Gen. James Hill, commander of the U.S. Southern Command, who added that the U.S.-led multinational peacekeeping force would work with Haitian police to collect weapons from "rusted M-1s to top-of-the-line Uzis."

Both sides can expect resistance from various groups, including a former pro-Aristide street gang and two convicted assassins among ex-soldiers who say they will not give up their weapons until Aristide militants do; and Aristide followers who do not recognize the new U.S.-backed transitional government and are demanding his return.

"We don't recognize him. ... He doesn't understand the reality of the country. He doesn't understand our hunger," said Jacques Pierre, 49, in La Saline, one of the slums that remain strongholds of Aristide loyalists.

The nation of 8 million remains torn between those who want a new government and those demanding Aristide's return.

Latortue, a 69-year-old former U.N. official and foreign minister, was scheduled to meet with interim President Boniface Alexandre later Thursday.

"I came here with my mind open to work with everyone in Haiti," Latortue said. "I'm not a member of any political party."

He spent much of the 29-year Duvalier family dictatorship, which ended in 1986, in exile. He became foreign minister in 1988 for former President Leslie Manigat, who was toppled in a military coup.

Latortue, who most recently lived in Boca Raton, Fla., and worked as an international consultant, said he understands what the country is experiencing.

"We who are living outside the country may not suffer the same kind of pain, but we feel it just as much when we see the wounds caused by what's happening in the country," he said.

Aristide was elected on promises to the poor, but lost support as misery deepened in the country and Haitians accused his government of corruption and attacks against his political opponents.

In exile in Africa, he claims he is still Haiti's legitimate leader and has accused the U.S. government of forcing him from his post. The United States has denied that. Latortue hasn't addressed Aristide's claims.

In Washington, the U.S. military announced an escalation in its mission, promising Marines will move quickly to stop violence among Haitians. "They will intervene to protect life," Hill said.

Also Wednesday, the U.S. Marines said they killed two Haitians who allegedly opened fire near the outgoing prime minister's private residence.

Since Sunday, Marines have killed at least four Haitians, including a driver who sped up while approaching a checkpoint and a gunman who opened fire on an anti-Aristide demonstration.