Agence France Presse

Port-au-Prince, March 9:

United States Secretary of State Colin Powell said Washington was trying to find a replacement for Haitian Prime Minister Yvon Neptune, as US Marines came under fire while patrolling the still volatile Haitian capital.

"We are working hard with the new council of eminent persons that has been created to come up with a new prime minister," Powell said.

Powell experessed regret that exiled Haitian president Jean Bertrand Aristide had "squandered the opportunity that was given to him by the presence of American troops and by the international community that stuck with it for years."

"But this time, I hope we can come out with a better political arrangement," he said. "Aristide was not forced out; he was not kidnapped; he was not ridden out on a rail," Powell said. "He was with his people, his bodyguards, who told him it was time to leave. He agreed, wrote his letter of resignation, and then went."

Under a plan approved by the United States, France and the Organisation of American States, a council of eminent persons is responsible for forming a new Haitian government that would be neutral and independant. The council and supreme court chief Boniface Alexandre are expected to recommend a new prime minister today.

Meanwhile, US Marines came under fire yesterday in the Haitian capital, while mobs went on a looting rampage near the international airport. The Marines did not suffer casualties .