Haiti asserts control over its territory amid the deployment of Salvadoran troops
Port-au-Prince, Haiti.— Amid the growing foreign military presence to fight armed gangs, Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé on Tuesday asserted the state’s authority over security operations and warned that no force deployed in the country may act outside the law or human rights.
The message was delivered at a press conference attended by the director of the Haitian National Police, the chief of staff of the Haitian Armed Forces, the colonel in charge of the Salvadoran troops and a German deputy commander. “We are not at war with the population. We are at war with the gangs holding the population hostage,” Fils-Aimé said, insisting that civilians must be protected and those responsible for criminal acts brought to justice.
The head of government made clear that international participation does not mean replacing Haitian institutions: its purpose, he said, is to support them, strengthen their capabilities and accompany them in regaining territorial control. He also warned that his administration will not tolerate abuse, mistreatment, unlawful violence or human rights violations, no matter who commits them.
The statement comes after United Nations Secretary-General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric clarified on Monday, November 2, that the large majority of Salvadoran soldiers deployed in Haiti do not belong to the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force. That clarification means those troops fall outside that international force’s mandate and its accountability mechanism.
The Salvadoran military reinforcement was announced by President Nayib Bukele after the October 18 attack in the Cul-de-Sac plain, north of Port-au-Prince, in which four Salvadoran military technicians disappeared and whose whereabouts remain unknown. Bukele then announced the deployment of more than 2,000 soldiers to different areas of Haiti, with the main mission of locating the four technicians.
Fils-Aimé said operations will continue under the authority of the Haitian state and announced as a priority the rebuilding and modernization of the Armed Forces, with the goal of turning them into a professional, modern institution, gradually growing to 15,000 soldiers. The international force, whose mandate was extended until March 2027, includes contributions from Chad, Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Mongolia, Jamaica, El Salvador and Bangladesh. The prime minister also thanked the president of the Dominican Republic for his understanding and solidarity with the Haitian people.
Photo: El diario del sur
Source: El diario del sur