From 18 January 2010

Their arrival comes amid reports of violence and looting, and as UN and US forces pushed back an angry crowd at the airport gates with batons.

UN head Ban Ki-Moon said he would recommend a 3,500 boost to police and troop numbers to the Security Council.

People have been continuing to flee the capital and many are seeking US visas.

The BBC's Mark Doyle in Port-au-Prince says perhaps 5,000 people have lined up outside the US embassy, desperate to join relatives among the large Haitian-American community in the US.

But UN humanitarian chief John Holmes played down worries over security, saying that despite incidents of violence, the overall situation was calm.

His message was echoed by the leading US general in Haiti,Lt Gen Ken Keen, who said there was currently less violence in Port-au-Prince - already a troubled city - than there had been before the earthquake.

Earlier, Gen Keen said up to 200,000 people may have died in the disaster.

He said the disaster was of "epic proportions", but it was "too early to know" the full human cost.

More than 2,200 US Marines arrived off the coast of Haiti on Monday aboard the amphibious ship USS Bataan, US media reported.

They are equipped with heavy lifting and earth-moving equipment, a dozen helicopters and medical support facilities.

Delivering aid to the centre of the capital is getting much more difficult, as anger fuelled by hunger reaches boiling point, and military escorts are needed for trucks carrying supplies, the BBC's David Loyn in Port-au-Prince says.

US Navy helicopters have been dropping packages of ready-to-eat meals and water from the air, but they can only feed a few people at a time, our correspondent adds.

Former US President Bill Clinton, who is a UN Special Envoy for Haiti, visited the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince on Monday.

He said he had been told before his trip that it needed medicine and power generators.

"We need very specific things that there is a shortage of," he said. "That is what I tried to do today. I called this hospital... and we said tell us very specifically everything you need and that's what we brought down."

Mr Clinton said he believed the delivery of aid was starting to catch up with the demand.

Lt Cdr Walter Matthews of the US Navy told the BBC he understood the frustration among Haitians but that the aid effort was improving.

Luca Pupulin, of the French charity Acted, told the BBC he had seen many people heading north away from the capital.

He said: "I think on the whole the community is trying to do its best, but they are getting very frustrated.

"A couple of days ago we went through the main market street and we didn't stay very long. People were getting aggressive with each other and pillaging."

The BBC's Matt Frei, in Port-au-Prince, says looting is now the main industry in the city and is being run by rival gangs who have taken the law into their own hands.

Especially prized is toothpaste, which people smear under their noses to fend off the stench of decaying corpses, the Associated Press news agency says.

Airport complaints

Port-au-Prince's port is badly damaged, and many roads are still blocked by corpses and debris, hampering the delivery of fuel and other supplies.

Several agencies complained at the weekend about not being able to get aid through the heavily congested airport, which is being run by the US military.

But Mr Holmes said that initial issues were being resolved, with the introduction through the World Food Programme of a system to prioritise humanitarian flights.

As hopes of finding survivors fade, Mr Holmes told reporters that there were now 43 search and rescue teams on the ground, with 1,700 people involved.

"More than 70 people have been pulled from the wreckage in the last few days," he said.

At least 70,000 people who died in the earthquake have already been buried.

Meanwhile, Haitian President Rene Preval has asked donors also to focus on Haiti's long-term needs.

Speaking at a donors' conference in the neighbouring Dominican Republic on Monday, he said: "We cannot just cure the wounds of the earthquake. We must develop the economy, agriculture, education, health and reinforce democratic institutions."

Aid workers are starting to expand their efforts to earthquake-affected areas outside the capital, including Leogane, Gressier, Petit-Goave and the coastal town of Jacmel.

Aid pledges

Speaking on Monday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he would recommend that the UN Security Council boost UN troop numbers in Haiti by 2,000 for six months, and UN police numbers by 1,500.

Mr Ban, who visited Port-au-Prince on Sunday, added: "The heartbreaking things I saw yesterday compel us to act swiftly and generously."

The UN has launched an appeal for $562m (£346m) intended to help three million people for six months, most of whom are thought to need emergency relief.

Meanwhile in Brussels, European Union nations pledged more than 420m euros ($604m; £320m) from the EU budget to assist Haiti, with about half the sum dedicated to emergency and short-term aid.

At least 200m euros will be dedicated to funding medium- to long-term rebuilding efforts.

The British government has said it will treble its aid to Haiti to £20m ($32m).