PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Haiti's advisory council named an interim prime minister to pave the way for elections, while U.S. Marines said they would start helping disarm the general population in a potentially volatile move after weeks of bloodshed.

Militants demanding ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's return stoned cars and set barricades ablaze Tuesday, blocking a main road in the capital and threatening renewed turmoil.

The new prime minister, Gerard Latortue, a former U.N. official and foreign minister, faces the difficult task of helping to restore peace in this troubled Caribbean nation following a monthlong insurgency that helped drive Aristide from power on Feb. 29. Rebels had seized control of half the country, sparking a frenzy of looting and violence. More than 400 people have died in the rebellion and reprisal killings.

U.S. Col. Charles Gurganus told reporters in Port-au-Prince that a joint disarmament program with Haitian police would begin today. He called on Haitians to tell peacekeepers who has weapons and to turn in any arms, but he gave few details of how the program will work.

Rebel groups and Aristide loyalists have threatened violence if weapons aren't taken away from their enemies.

Latortue and interim President Boniface Alexandre will work toward organizing elections and building a new government for Haiti.

Council member Dr. Ariel Henry said Latortue was chosen because the council believed he was "an independent guy, a democrat." Councilor Anne-Marie Issa described him as someone "to pull everybody together."

Latortue, who served as foreign minister in 1988, was in Miami but accepted the position in a telephone call, council members said. He was expected to fly to Haiti as soon as today to replace Yvon Neptune. Latortue couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.

Also Tuesday, CIA Director George J. Tenet warned that in Haiti, "a humanitarian disaster or mass migration remains possible."

"A cycle of clashes and revenge killings could easily be set off, given the large number of angry, well-armed people on both sides," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington. "Improving security will require the difficult task of disarming armed groups and augmenting and retraining a national security force."

Aristide, meanwhile, has insisted from exile in Africa that he is still president of Haiti, saying he was removed from office by the U.S. government.

State Department officials have denied those claims. But the 53-nation African Union and the 15-nation Caribbean Community have said they are investigating.