BEIJING, Dec. 17 -- Tension is rising in Haiti, as local police and UN peacekeepers have surrounded the former house of ex-president Jean Bertrand Aristide. Dozens of ex-soldiers who led a three-week rebellion that forced Aristide to flee the country in February, took over the compound on Wednesday.

    Haiti's interim government initiated talks, and warned the rebels to leave the compound in Tabarre, outskirts of Port-au-Prince. But the demobilized soldiers are refusing to go.

    A spokesman for the rebels said they would use the house as a base of operations to provide security to the local population. Pro-Aristide supports still retained control many of Port-au-Prince's sprawling slums. The UN has sent more peacekeepers to help the government regain control of the city.

    (Source: CCTV.com)