Home
Haiti: the bulk of U.S. troops will be gone by June
Haiti: The United States was preparing to close on June 1, the mission of U.S. troops who took part in humanitarian operations in Haiti after killer earthquake of January 12, said a high-ranking American at a press conference Monday.
According to Gen. Ken Keen, some 2,200 U.S. troops are still there, against 22,000 in February, at the height of international relief operations initiated in the Caribbean country after the earthquake that killed more than 220,000 deaths.
"We should close the operations of the Joint Task Force + + (responsible for coordinating the relief efforts of the U.S. Army, ndr) around 1st June," said deputy commander responsible for U.S. military operations in the area ( Southcom).
Only about 500 National Guardsmen and reservists will perform on American soil after Haiti, as part of a regular operation spanning humanitarian assistance until September, he said.
For now, the priority of soldiers still deployed in Haiti is to "minimize the effects of the rains to come," while more than one million people remain homeless and living in tents, said General Keen which led to last week's American operations in the country.
"Recently, we have tried to move these people, in collaboration with NGOs, UN and others to make them safe from danger," he said.
Asked about security in Port-au-Prince, he assured that "the situation remains calm." "There are isolated incidents of violence but not on a scale that prevents us from providing humanitarian assistance," he said.
Source: Lenouvelliste (French)
Levanjiltv: English Translation
Haiti: The United States was preparing to close on June 1, the mission of U.S. troops who took part in humanitarian operations in Haiti after killer earthquake of January 12, said a high-ranking American at a press conference Monday.
According to Gen. Ken Keen, some 2,200 U.S. troops are still there, against 22,000 in February, at the height of international relief operations initiated in the Caribbean country after the earthquake that killed more than 220,000 deaths.
"We should close the operations of the Joint Task Force + + (responsible for coordinating the relief efforts of the U.S. Army, ndr) around 1st June," said deputy commander responsible for U.S. military operations in the area ( Southcom).
Only about 500 National Guardsmen and reservists will perform on American soil after Haiti, as part of a regular operation spanning humanitarian assistance until September, he said.
For now, the priority of soldiers still deployed in Haiti is to "minimize the effects of the rains to come," while more than one million people remain homeless and living in tents, said General Keen which led to last week's American operations in the country.
"Recently, we have tried to move these people, in collaboration with NGOs, UN and others to make them safe from danger," he said.
Asked about security in Port-au-Prince, he assured that "the situation remains calm." "There are isolated incidents of violence but not on a scale that prevents us from providing humanitarian assistance," he said.
Source: Lenouvelliste (French)
Levanjiltv: English Translation
No Comment.