PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- U.S. soldiers took over state television and radio and guarded intersections downtown Friday to try to maintain order during a march in support of democracy on the third anniversary of the overthrow of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.


The Americans met no resistance during the predawn takeovers to silence the anti-American mouthpieces of the Haitian military coup leaders.


Hundreds of Haitians cheered on the Americans at both state television and state radio headquarters. Employees of the state television were told to leave and not to come into work Friday and switchboards were flooded with callers offering praise, said 1st Lieutenant Clinton Trussell, who led the 28-member American unit that took over state television.


U.S. Ambassador William Swing characterized the tension and violence of the past few days as "a national experience that Haiti has to get through.''


U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher said additional troops will be dispatched through the weekend to make sure potential troublemakers know the United States "dominates the scene.'' According to the Pentagon, 19,600 U.S. troops are on the ground in Haiti. About 9,200 more are on ships in the region.


Also Thursday, the UN Security Council voted to lift its economic embargo against Haiti, but said the measure would only take effect after Aristide returned to office.


The grenade was thrown at a crowd of several thousand who had just witnessed the return of freely elected Mayor Evans Paul to his post in City Hall.


A U.S. official said on condition of anonymity that at least four and as many as nine people were killed. At least 62 people were injured, including a 9-year-old boy and three other children.


The Associated Press and Red Cross officials counted three dead at the scene, including a man who was run over by a U.S. Army Humvee jeep. It was not known whether he was still alive when that happened.


Many Haitians fled after the blast, hands raised over their heads so as not to provoke any of the nervous U.S. soldiers rushing to the scene into shooting.


Several soldiers opened fire after a shot appeared to come from an alley between buildings. They then blasted their way into a warehouse but found no one inside.


A pro-Aristide priest, the Reverend Gerard Jean-Juste, blamed a far-right paramilitary, the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti, for the blast.


Three Haitian suspects were detained by the U.S. 16th military police brigade from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. "We have to still figure out who we turn them over to,'' said Army Major Ken Fugett, a U.S. military spokesman.