Huge crowds welcomed rebels into the Haitian capital as US and French troops started a peacekeeping mission to restore calm after the departure of President Jean Bertrand Aristide. But looting persisted in Port-au-Prince and the United States was drawn into a dispute over its role in Aristide’s flight to exile in Africa after the ousted leader told associates US soldiers had forced him to leave at gunpoint. The White House and top US officials strongly rejected the allegations as a US diplomat here said he’d escorted Aristide voluntarily to the city’s airport prior to his departure. But the former president said he had been pressured by the United States to flee into exile and his removal from power amounted to a “modern kidnapping” and a “coup d’etat.” Full Story