Aristide plane refuels in Dakar

[March 18, 2011]  JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- South Africa's foreign ministry says Jean-Bertrand Aristide's plane arrived in Dakar, Senegal for refueling before if flies directly to Haiti.

The plane landed in the West African capital Friday, and is expected to arrive in Haiti in the morning, local time.

Declaring the "great day has arrived," the former Haitian president left South Africa on Thursday night, ending seven years in exile, with his wife and two daughters. He had been ousted in a rebellion in 2004 but remains hugely popular in his impoverished Caribbean nation. U.S. President Barack Obama had tried to keep he controversial figure away from his country until it holds a presidential election on Sunday, fearing he could destabilize the process.

[Associated Press]

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