MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

More Nations May Join U.N. in Haiti.

The new U.N. peacekeeping force in Haiti may soon be getting troops from more countries, the deputy U.S. ambassador said on Monday.

The U.N. force starting arriving on June 1 to replace a 3,600-strong U.S.-led multinational force sent to Haiti after a three-week rebellion led the country's elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to flee in February.

U.S. deputy ambassador Stuart Holliday said the United States was "very encouraged" by the smooth transition from American to Brazilian command and new offers of troops for the U.N. force.

"I think that we are going to see some new troop contributors like Argentina and Uruguay who have gotten political authority to send troops," Holliday said.

More than 1,200 Brazilian troops are expected to lead the U.N. force, which is expected to swell to 6,700 peacekeepers and more than 1,600 international police.

The Security Council heard a briefing by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Hedi Annabi on the start of the U.N. deployment and the situation in the Caribbean nation which he said was calm and stable.

Council members urged countries that pledged troops for the U.N. force to send them.

The U.N. troops will conduct security patrols, help disarm former combatants and assist in humanitarian work. Recent floods killed more than 1,700 people on the Haitian-Dominican border and left some 1,500 missing and presumed dead.

The council stressed the importance of an international donors conference for Haiti in Washington on July 19-20 and urged countries to be generous.