El Salvador deploys 1,000 troops to Haiti after gang ambush
Reinforcements arrive to search for four missing personnel as gang conflict escalates
El Salvador has sent about 1,000 troops to Haiti after four Salvadorean members of a UN-backed security mission went missing in a gang ambush on the outskirts of the capital on October 18, a security official in Haiti told Reuters on Tuesday.
The troops’ arrival aboard flights in recent days dramatically expands the Central American nation’s role in Haiti’s long-standing gang conflict. Yet it remains unclear who will command the new Salvadorean contingent, how long it will stay in Haiti or whether more forces will follow.
Neither the Haitian nor Salvadorean government immediately responded to requests for comment. The official in Haiti spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the security situation.
