The Philippines will send up to 150 soldiers to Haiti next week to help United Nations' peacekeeping forces stem political unrest and a wave of killings ahead of elections, a military spokesman said Thursday. Lt. Col. Buenaventura Pascual, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman, said the Philippine troops would join nearly 4,000 peacekeepers in Haiti, now run by an interim government charged with organizing elections. "This is the first time we are sending peacekeeping troops to the Caribbean nation," said Pascual. "They will be staying there for six months. We may send a second batch if needed." Pascual said the Philippine contingent was organized after President Arroyo approved a request from the United Nations' Security Council to beef up the Brazilian-led peacekeeping mission. An advance team of four officers will leave on Friday.
The U.N. mission is charged with restoring order in the poor Caribbean nation after its president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was ousted in February. The mission has been hampered from the start by a shortage of international troops and police. |