Aristide accuses US of coup

Former Haiti president Jean-Bertrand Aristide has said the United States forced him out of office in a coup.

"I was told that to avoid bloodshed I'd better leave," he told broadcaster CNN on Monday.

Earlier, the Bush administration denied that US troops abducted Aristide, an allegation that two US members of Congress said was made by the deposed president.

Aristide was flown out of Haiti on Sunday as rebels closed in on the capital Port-au-Prince.

Aristide, his wife and children, arrived in the Central African Republic on Monday and were expected to remain in the country for a few days before attempting to move to another destination -- thought to be South Africa -- to seek asylum.

On Monday itself US Marines landed in Haiti, as part of an "interim international force" endorsed at an emergency UN Security Council meeting. Forces from France and other nations were expected to arrive soon to help restore order in the nation.