Aristide stronghold in Port-au-Prince. MINUSTAH, with more than 8,000 troops in Haiti, has a mandate through February 15. The peacekeepers are to help provide stability leading up to elections, although no firm date has been set for the vote. Just three days ago, the U.N. commander, General Urano Bacellar, said that security had improved enough to allow for immediate elections. But he conceded that several areas remained troublesome, with daily clashes. --SP 2050 Local Time 1750 GMT