Haiti: US, UN beef up troop strength
The US is sending another 4,000 sailors and marines to Haiti, boosting the number of troops involved in the mission to 16,000. The UN is also beefing up its “peacekeeping” force.
The US is sending another 4,000 sailors and marines to Haiti, boosting the number of troops involved in the mission to 16,000. The UN is also beefing up its “peacekeeping” force.
David L. Wilson of Weekly News Update on the Americas was in Port-au-Prince with a delegation when the Jan. 12 earthquake struck the city. Because of limited electricity and internet access, he was unable to send this report out until… Read moreDay Three in Port-au-Prince: “A difficult situation”
A Doctors Without Borders cargo plane carrying 12 tons of medical equipment was turned away three times from Port-au-Prince airport since Sunday night, the group protests.
In a third account from stricken Port-au-Prince, David Wilson reports “young men with crowbars” working to rescue trapped victims, but still sees little sign of the authorities.
Reports rose of looting and vigilantism among desperate survivors as Port-au-Prince awaits the deployment of 1,200 US troops. The 9,000-strong UN force has increased patrols.
As a force of 10,000 US troops begins to arrive in Haiti, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega raised fears about a new Yankee occupation of the stricken Caribbean nation.
Haitian nationals already present in the United States have been granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and will be allowed to continue living and working in the US for the next 18 months.
David L. Wilson of Weekly News Update on the Americas reports from stricken Port-au-Prince, where there is still no sign of government or international relief efforts.
Gen. Douglas Frazier, head of the Pentagon’s Southern Command, indicated that refugees from the devastating Haiti earthquake may be temporarily housed at Guantánamo Bay naval base.
Bassin Zim Education & Development Fund, a non-profit that provides aid to disaster victims and supports agricultural projects in Haiti, has launched a special earthquake relief drive.
David L. Wilson of Weekly News Update on the Americas reports from stricken Port-au-Prince in the wake of the devastating earthquake.
Two weeks after thousands marched in San Juan to protest official indifference in a gruesome anti-gay slaying, another gay man was found stabbed 20 times and partly decapitated.