Soldier serving UN troops dies during pre-dawn operation

A Sri Lankan soldier, serving the UN troops in Haiti died on Monday (20) when a pre-dawn operation conducted by UN troops to remove armed ex-soldiers from a police station at Petit-Goave, west of Port-au-Prince, came under rival fire.

The Sri Lankan soldier, the first UN peacekeeper to be killed in Haiti along with two rival ex-soldiers, was Lance Corporal H. N. WIJESINGHE (S/310553) from Badulla who left for Haiti on UN assignment last September.

Sergeant K. T. J. S. L Wijethilake, Corporal M. G. A Premasiri and Lance Corporal D. M Janaka Udaya Kumara of the Sri Lanka Army who received injuries following the incident are receiving medical treatment.

Mortal remains of the Sri Lankan soldier are to be brought down to Sri Lanka shortly for funeral arrangements.

“We wanted to resolve this peacefully but our troops received a hostile response from the insurgents and so they responded with force. Three other UN troops were also wounded but they are in stable condition. Using a loud speaker, the Brazilian Commander of UN troops in Haiti had tried to get those ex-soldiers to surrender peacefully but they opened fire on UN troops,” UN spokesman Toussaint Kongo-Doudou was quoted saying to international news agencies.