
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, October 10, 1994                   TAG: 9410110049
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI                                LENGTH: Short

HAITIAN LEADERS QUITTING 14 PRO-DEMOCRACY MARCHERS ARE KILLED

The last of Haiti's three top military leaders will step down today, clearing the way for President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to come home. But 14 people were killed Sunday as attacks on pro-democracy supporters continued.

Army leader Raoul Cedras will transfer power to the army's No.2 commander, Maj. Gen. Jean-Claude Duperval, Col. Jean-Robert Gabriel, a spokesman for the Haitian high command, confirmed Sunday.

Brig. Gen. Philippe Biamby, the army chief of staff and a co-leader of the September 1991 coup that ousted Aristide, presented his resignation to Cedras last week, and Cedras accepted it on Saturday, a diplomat said Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The military transition plan was approved Saturday in Washington by Haitian officers and Aristide representatives. The resignations would pave the way for Aristide's expected return from exile next Saturday.

Duperval's appointment as army chief was temporary, the diplomat said.

Despite the imminent transition, attacks on Aristide supporters continued.

In the southern hamlet of Djimenzen, a bus plowed into pro-Aristide marchers Sunday, killing 14 people. U.S. Special Forces officers on the scene said the driver deliberately ran down the marchers. It wasn't immediately known if there were arrests.

Aristide supporters also were saddened by news Sunday that an outspoken pro-Aristide artist, Stevenson Magloire, was beaten to death in broad daylight. There were no immediate arrests in that incident.

Keywords:
FATALITY INFOLINE

by CNB