PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP): Armed supporters of President Jean Bertrand Aristide threw up roadblocks and looted the Haitian capital Wednesday in anticipation of a threatened rebel attack as France became the first country to call on Aristide to stand down. Hundreds of Haitians and foreigners braved masked, anger-prone gang members to mob the Port-au-Prince airport hoping to leave. But at least two airlines cancelled flights due to deteriorating security and waning hopes for a peaceful solution. Gunfire, looting and thuggery were reported in the capital as Aristide's political foes again demanded the president's departure as a precondition for any settlement. The United States and other governments struggled to keep mediation plans alive but France called on Aristide to step down so that an international peacekeeping force can be deployed. US President George W. Bush said a security force could only be sent after a settlement is reached and warned potential Haitian refugees against taking to sea to escape the deadly unrest. Meanwhile the rebels -- who are also demanding Aristide's ouster and have vowed to seize the capital -- cemented their control of northern Haiti with the capture of Tortue Island, police sources said. But Guy Philippe, a military leader of the armed fighters, said they would lay down their arms if Aristide left office. At least 70 people have been killed and scores wounded as the three-week-old insurgency has spread. There are widespread fears of a bloodbath amid signs the rebels and pro-Aristide forces are prepared for retributory killing sprees. The United Nations approved the departure of non-essential staff in Haiti to the neighboring Dominican Republic but their planned evacuation, under the supervision of US Marines, was postponed for a day. The UN Security Council was to hold an urgent meeting on Haiti on Thursday Fearing imminent attack, gangs loyal to the president searched cars and their occupants around Port-au-Prince at makeshift barricades of trucks, shipping containers, concrete slabs, refrigerators, other abandoned household appliances and burning tires.. Gunmen also roamed the streets and roadblocks set up at the main entrances to the city at the weekend were strengthened. At the capital's main hospital, at least six people were being treated for gunshot wounded and several said they had been shot by militia members, popularly known as "chimeres" -- mythical fire-breathing monsters. Two car dealerships and several businesses were looted by pro-Aristide gangs, according to the opposition which said that despite the surging violence it would not accept any international force that keeps the president in office. Opposition leaders said they would not attend Paris talks proposed by the French government on ways to end the crisis but stressed they were still willing to work with the international community on creating a framework for Aristide's "timely and orderly departure." Any "solution must address the source of the problem which is Mr Jean Bertrand Aristide," they said in a statement, repeating claims the president and his ruling Lavalas Family political party are guilty of widespread human rights abuses, corruption, vote-rigging and fomenting violence. French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said Haiti was "threatened by chaos" and called on Aristide to "draw the consequences" from the deadlock as his regime "has been doing without constitutional legality." De Villepin said Paris had drafted a five-point plan that would include a peacekeeping force, international assistance for a presidential election, humanitarian aid, a human rights observer mission and a long-term commitment to reconstruction. "A race has started between the partisans of violence and those who still hope for a peaceful solution. Haiti faces a real risk of chaos today," the minister said in a statement. Diplomatic sources said France wanted to see a presidential election in the next six months. Aristide, who has repeatedly rejected calls to step down before the end of his term in 2006, had accepted an internationally backed power-sharing plan that would allow him to remain as president but with significantly weakened authority. But his two small daughters left for the United States Wednesday, diplomatic sources said. But the opposition formally rejected the proposal on Tuesday. In an interview with AFP in the second city of Cap Haitien, rebel commander Guy Philippe said: "If Aristide goes, that is good. If he goes we will lay down our arms." "If we have not yet attacked Port-au-Prince, it is to give peace a chance," Philippe said of the international mediation attempts of recent days. "It is a war that no-one can win. It is the country that loses." Philippe has made his base in the best hotel in Cap-Haitien, the country's second city, and had about 150 men around him. He said however that his fighters were read to take the capital if necessary. Reprinted from Caribbean Net News caribbeannetnews.com