Bukele Rejects Haiti Airstrike Claims, Cites Unflown Helicopters
(MENAFN) Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, flatly denied on Saturday that Salvadoran forces in Haiti had bombed civilians, pushing back against accusations of criminal conduct by troops under his command.
“Our mission doesn’t even have bombs at its disposal,” Bukele wrote on X, the US social media platform. He questioned how any such strikes could have occurred before Salvadoran attack helicopters reached the country.
According to Bukele, the aircraft landed in Haiti on Oct. 29, a day before an independent news outlet reported the allegations, and had flown no missions as of Saturday. He added that their arrival was widely reported and documented in videos and social media posts.
The accusations originated with UNA-Haiti (United Nations Association-Haiti), which sent an open letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Oct. 30. The letter charged Salvadoran forces with air raids, helicopter gunship attacks and heavy-weapons operations in densely populated areas near Port-au-Prince, including Croix-des-Bouquets, Canaan and La Plaine du Cul-de-Sac.
The group called for an investigation into alleged civilian deaths, claiming that foreign troops, rather than armed gangs, were killing children.
Bukele dismissed the claims and accused non-governmental organizations of spreading falsehoods while wielding influence over international bodies. He characterized them as lobbyists for criminal gangs that operate behind a humanitarian front.
El Salvador sent troops to Haiti after an Oct. 18 gang ambush left four Salvadoran aviation technicians, who were serving with a UN-backed force, missing. Bukele framed the deployment as a rescue mission for those personnel.
The allegations of aerial attacks have not been independently verified.
“Our mission doesn’t even have bombs at its disposal,” Bukele wrote on X, the US social media platform. He questioned how any such strikes could have occurred before Salvadoran attack helicopters reached the country.
According to Bukele, the aircraft landed in Haiti on Oct. 29, a day before an independent news outlet reported the allegations, and had flown no missions as of Saturday. He added that their arrival was widely reported and documented in videos and social media posts.
The accusations originated with UNA-Haiti (United Nations Association-Haiti), which sent an open letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Oct. 30. The letter charged Salvadoran forces with air raids, helicopter gunship attacks and heavy-weapons operations in densely populated areas near Port-au-Prince, including Croix-des-Bouquets, Canaan and La Plaine du Cul-de-Sac.
The group called for an investigation into alleged civilian deaths, claiming that foreign troops, rather than armed gangs, were killing children.
Bukele dismissed the claims and accused non-governmental organizations of spreading falsehoods while wielding influence over international bodies. He characterized them as lobbyists for criminal gangs that operate behind a humanitarian front.
El Salvador sent troops to Haiti after an Oct. 18 gang ambush left four Salvadoran aviation technicians, who were serving with a UN-backed force, missing. Bukele framed the deployment as a rescue mission for those personnel.
The allegations of aerial attacks have not been independently verified.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the
information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept
any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images,
videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information
contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright
issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Comments
No comment