South Korea to officially launch peacekeeping unit for Haiti.

SEOUL, Feb. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will officially launch a contingent of
peacekeeping troops for Haiti this week ahead of their full deployment set for
later this month, officials said Tuesday.

South Korea will be sending a total of 240 peacekeepers to Haiti by the end of
this month, joining international efforts to aid the quake-ravaged Caribbean
state. An advance unit comprised of 30 troops left the country last week.
An inauguration and send-off ceremony for the unit will be held Wednesday in
Incheon, a port city just outside of Seoul, attended by defense and foreign
affairs-related ministers, military chiefs and family members, the defense
ministry said in a press release.
The South Korean parliament on Feb. 9 approved a 28.7 billion won (US$25 million)
plan to deploy peacekeeping troops to Leogane, about 40 kilometers west of the
capital Port-au-Prince and among the regions hit hardest by the massive
7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12. The earthquake reportedly
leveled a third of its buildings and killed hundreds of thousands of people.
The main contingent of South Korean peacekeepers, including some 100 military
engineers and 20 medics, is scheduled to depart for Haiti on Feb. 27 and remain
stationed there until Dec. 31 this year.
hayney@yna.co.kr
(END)

Delete & Prev | Delete & Next