El Salvador to Send More Than 2,000 Soldiers to Haiti

El Salvador says it will deploy more than 2,000 soldiers to Haiti to help locate four missing Salvadoran military personnel and support anti-gang operations. Accounts differ in how much they emphasize the rescue, the wider security mission and questions around the deployment.

• El Salvador’s foreign ministry said more than 2,000 soldiers would go to Haiti to help retrieve four missing Salvadorans and support security efforts against gangs.· 2 sources
• The four personnel were working with the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force and went missing after their armoured vehicle was ambushed in Croix-des-Bouquets.· 1 source
• Haiti handed over four bodies said to be those of the missing personnel, but President Nayib Bukele said they did not match; the supplied reports give differing details about the bodies and the circumstances of the search.· 2 sources
• Haiti’s prime minister’s office reportedly expressed a preference for coordination through the Gang Suppression Force, while humanitarian groups raised concerns about civilian risks if forces do not coordinate closely.· 1 source
• The BBC report says gangs control much of Haiti’s capital and cites the UN figure of more than 5,700 people killed in gang-related violence in Haiti this year.· 1 source