Ministry of Defence has stated that a contingent of 218 personnel, comprising 173 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) personnel and 45 Special Task Force (STF) personnel, departed Sri Lanka on October 16 to join the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) mission in Haiti.
This deployment follows the departure of another contingent of 280 Sri Lanka Army personnel, including 21 officers and 259 other ranks, on October 14, the statement said.
The new personnel will join the Sri Lankan contingent already serving in Haiti, where troops are engaged in security operations, including armoured vehicle patrols and the protection of key supply routes.
In a further demonstration of goodwill and international cooperation, the Sri Lanka Army extended its hospitality to a 50-member Bangladesh contingent travelling through Sri Lanka en route to the same mission.
Since arriving on 15 October, the contingent has been provided with food, accommodation, transportation and other essential facilities, generously extended by the Sri Lanka Army as a gesture of goodwill and mutual cooperation, the statement added.
