By Gail Alexander, Guardian TT

Caricom leaders will meet in special emergency session in Jamaica, during the next 24-48 hours, to organise a peacekeeping force for Haiti and other assistance, in wake of the departure of President Jean Bertrand Aristide yesterday, Foreign Affairs Minister Knowlson Gift has confirmed.

Aristide was initially said to be seeking asylum in Panama, Morocco or Taiwan, Gift said.

However, he has been offered asylum "by a friendly African nation," Gift added.

A T&T UN mission source said yesterday that Aristide's plane had landed in Antigua, after leaving Haiti.

"The plane landed to refuel, but the Antiguan Government made it clear that Aristide was not to disembark," the source said.

Just a month ago, Aristide, meeting with Caricom leaders, promised to step down at the end of his term in February 2006.

He promised not to seek re-election, or to put his wife up as a candidate for the presidency.

Gift was at work from early yesterday, monitoring the situation all day along with Caricom officials, as the news of the embattled president's departure broke.

He was also busy arranging for the Jamaica meeting, when he said Caricom leaders would organise the region's input on the situation.

The meeting is expected by tomorrow, he added.

"One doesn't just land troops in an airport; there has to be a structured approach, particularly in a situation like this." Gift said.

He said it would take a short while to discuss the logistics of the situation and pull all aspects together. At the same time, he added, Caricom would move alongside any United Nations plan on the matter.

Gift also added: "We're trying to get a handle on things in Haiti as well. For instance, T&T would like to know under what circumstances Aristide left Haiti and other details."

He noted that Artistide had got away alive "...not for the first time."

Another Government source said:

"It would be fair to say an international third party brokered Sunday's arrangement for Aristide to leave and for the rebel forces to hold off until he did."

Aristide's sudden departure came after Prime Minister Patrick Manning hinted on Saturday that certain "initiatives" were "taking place behind the scene."

He'd also said Caricom was holding its hand on intervention.

He said "something" had been approved, "but in a different version from what we had anticipated was required."

Manning had declined to say what this "something" was, citing security reasons. But he said the plan did not rule out sending T&T's armed troops to Haiti.

He said UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had called him on Friday evening to say the UN Security Council had approved intervention by T&T in the situation.

A T&T Government source noted:

"The US said they would not make a move until a political solution was worked out in Haiti. Since such a solution has now been arrived at - in the form of Aristide's departure - they will move in, since the looting and unrest have deteriorated after Aristide's departure."

The source was very doubtful that Aristide - who had been deposed and reinstated before - could make a comeback again.

Several of Aristide's aides are also out of Haiti, a T&T source at the UN mission said.

Aristide's Chief of Staff was stranded at Miami Airport awaiting a flight into Haiti when news of his departure broke, the source said.

Commercial airlines stopped flights into Port-au-Prince last week as the situation deteriorated there.

Just before Aristide left, American Airline officials said flights from Miami into Haiti were booked solidly from Wednesday until the weekend.