In a spectacular move, paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne division descended from at least four helicopters to secure the presidential palace, a once elegant white building now surrounded by a stinking, squalid refugee camp.

From there, a 100-strong squad of soldiers headed on foot to the city's general hospital, swamped with injured after the catastrophic 7.0-magnitude quake.

The Haitian government said Tuesday that 75,000 people had been killed, 250,000 were injured and a million left homeless in the quake seven days ago.

"We are here to provide security to the hospital. We work with the government of Haiti. We have rules of engagement, but we are on a humanitarian mission," Sergeant Bill Smith told AFP.

In a several-pronged operation, US Marines also landed southwest of the capital Port-au-Prince to link up with UN peacekeepers and assess conditions to start moving in more troops and equipment.

State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said there were 12,000 troops in or around Haiti, most based on US Navy vessels anchored offshore.

About 2,200 Marines and sailors are also expected to take part in the relief operation. Some 130 Marines arrived by helicopter Tuesday in the devastated town of Leogane, to be met by a crowd of about 200 Haitians.

The arrival at the presidential palace was not welcomed by all of the 50,000 homeless, destitute refugees camping outside. "It's an occupation. The palace is our power, our face, our pride," said Feodor Desanges.

But Duguid stressed: "Our troops are here at the invitation of the people in the name of your president. As soon as the Haitian people no longer need our presence, we will leave."

Amid reports of sporadic looting and growing tensions on the streets, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to send 3,500 extra UN troops and police to Haiti to help maintain order and protect aid convoys.

Relatives told AFP that Haitian police had killed a 15-year-old girl Fabienne Cherisma while firing warning shots over looters in the capital.

Some witnesses in the angry crowd, including the girl's father, said the policeman had aimed deliberately at the girl, while others spoke of a warning shot that went tragically astray.

While the full scale of the disaster remains unclear, extraordinary stories of children and adults surviving several days under collapsed buildings provide rare glimmers of hope.

But, with hopes of finding more survivors fading, the deputy commander of the military operation in Haiti said US forces would soon switch the focus of the operation to recovering bodies.

"We fully expect that we will transition very soon from the search phase to the recovery phase, and obviously we continue to be in prayer," said Major General Daniel Allyn.

Allyn said there were now some 200 daily flights at the capital's damaged airport, and that two additional airstrips, in the coastal city of Jacmel and in San Isidro in the neighboring Dominican Republic, would be in use by Thursday.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has also called up to 900 US Coast Guard reservists saying the move "will expand our capacity to assist in aid efforts in Haiti."

In a huge global effort, more than 1.2 billion dollars has been pledged in aid funding for Haiti, United Nations data showed Tuesday.

International efforts are also focusing on the rebuilding of Haiti, with a major donor's conference to be held on Monday in Montreal to be attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"We need to move beyond reconstruction to build a new Haiti," said Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon.

Haiti's biggest foreign investor Digicel said Tuesday it was working alongside former US president Bill Clinton, the special UN envoy to Haiti, on a "Marshall Plan" to rebuild the country saying foreign investment would be key.

Meanwhile, in a surreal scene, the giant 3,600-berth cruise ship Liberty of the Seas dropped anchor off the port of Labadee where the company leases a private resort with beautiful beaches.

Royal Caribbean International, which has donated one million dollars to the Haiti relief effort, defended its decision to keep taking passengers there by saying it was important to keep the Haitian economy ticking over.

earlier related report
UN to send 3,500 extra troops, police to Haiti
United Nations (AFP) Jan 19, 2010 - The Security Council voted Tuesday to send 3,500 extra security personnel to quake-hit Haiti to help maintain order and protect aid convoys as the world body mourned its dead exactly one week after the powerful temblor.

The 15-member council, "recognizing the dire circumstances and urgent need for a response," unanimously backed a request to beef up the UN forces in the Caribbean nation made by UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday.

"I am grateful to the Security Council for its swift action," Ban told reporters, after it agreed in its vote that the UN mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) now will consist of a military component of up to 8,940 troops of all ranks and of a police component of up to 3,711.

"We must do all we can to get these extra forces on the ground as soon as possible so that they can help maintain order and deliver humanitarian assistance," Ban added.

The UN boss later led a poignant ceremony to honor the UN quake victims at 4:53 pm (2153 GMT) in the General Assembly, exactly one week after the quake struck, and a moment was observed throughout the United Nations at that time.

A somber-looking Ban then bowed deeply as he faced the UN flag that had been flying atop the headquarters of the UN mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) which was flattened by the quake.

After the wreath-laying ceremony, hundreds of UN staff, including many Haitians, diplomats and journalists held a candlelight vigil at an outdoor plaza.

The January 12, 7.0-magnitude quake struck the impoverished nation of nine million people, killing at least 75,000, according to the Haitian government.

The capital, Port-au-Prince, has been left largely in ruins by the quake, which also destroyed the MINUSTAH headquarters.

UN officials confirmed the deaths of at least 47 staffers, including 19 Brazilians, with more than 500 still unaccounted for, in the worst tragedy ever to strike to world body.

They also released more names among those fatalities.

During his six-hour visit to Port-au-Prince Sunday, Ban saw first-hand the extensive devastation and expressed solidarity with quake victims and shell-shocked UN staff.

"Our chief priority is to get the relief distribution in Port-au-Prince fully operational so that we may more efficiently distribute supplies: food, water, medicines, tents," the UN boss said.

Ban's call came amid fears that desperation at the slow pace of aid could spill over into widespread violence, in a country that has long-running security troubles.

Thousands of homeless Haitians were prey to roving bands of looters swarming through the ruins of Port-au-Prince, with only sporadic presence of police and military officials tasked with protecting the vulnerable populace.

But in a videoconference from Port-au-Prince, UN spokesman David Wimhurst dismissed reports of widespread looting and chaos as wildly "exaggerated."

Edmond Mulet, the acting MINUSTAH chief, said there was some security concern, particularly with the escape of 4,000 inmates from the city's main prison, including some gang leaders.

But he noted that generally "the security situation is under control."

China's UN Ambassador Zhang Yesui, the council chair this month, said meanwhile the extra troops and police would be deployed for six months.

Head of UN peacekeeping operations, Alain Le Roy, said Monday the reinforcements would be used to protect humanitarian convoys and build aid corridors linking Port-au-Prince with neighboring Dominican Republic and a northern Haitian port.

The Haitian capital's main port was heavily damaged in the quake and will require weeks if not months of repairs.

The extra UN troops would also serve as a reserve force, "in case the security situation deteriorates," Leroy said.

Le Roy said the Dominican Republic had agreed to dispatch a battalion of 800 troops for arrival as early as this week and that other countries, notably from Latin America and the European Union, were considering offers.

Mulet meanwhile said a memorandum of understanding had been reached with both the United States and Canada under which the UN remains in charge of coordinating the relief distribution.

But forces from the two countries would be used to protect aid convoys in their separate areas of responsibility.

US forces would operate mainly in the Port-au-Prince area while the Canadians would deploy in southern Haiti, including the city of Jacmel, he said.

The UN mission in Haiti currently has roughly 7,000 troops, 2,000 police and about 2,000 civilian personnel.

It has been deployed since mid-2004 to help stabilize the impoverished nation, already the poorest in the Americas.

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