Salvadoran soldiers missing after gang ambush in Haiti

Salvadoran service members attached to the international anti-gang force in Haiti are missing following a gang ambush on Sunday on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. Reports differ on the number of missing personnel, as UPI, The Haitian Times, Internazionale, and Devdiscourse reported four missing soldiers, while The New York Times reported five. [1][2][3][4][5]

According to a military statement reported by Diario El Salvador and cited by UPI, four air force technicians were returning to their base when heavily armed gang members attacked their armored vehicle with gunfire and explosives. The attack triggered intense fighting and set the vehicle on fire, but all service members managed to escape before going missing. [1]

The New York Times reported that the U.N.-backed force is searching for the soldiers, who were attacked while traveling through a gang-controlled area. The conflict between rival gangs and state security forces in Port-au-Prince has escalated in recent years, with gangs estimated to control up to 90 percent of the capital city by 2023. [2][7][9]

The international mission in Haiti was authorized under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2699 on October 2, 2023, establishing a multinational security support mission to assist national forces. Ongoing violence previously forced the indefinite postponement of scheduled presidential and general elections in the country, as FTMQ News reported earlier. [7][9]