Sri Lanka to begin troop rotation in Haiti next month

COLOMBO, Tuesday (AFP) Sri Lanka will begin rotating its 750-strong UN peacekeeping contingent in Haiti next month, the defence ministry said Tuesday.

A batch of 750 soldiers will replace the current Sri Lankan peacekeeping unit in Haiti in small batches, ministry spokesman Daya Ratnayake said.

"We will start the process of this turnaround from early next month," Ratnayake said. Since their deployment in September, two Sri Lankan UN peacekeepers have been killed and two others wounded.

The Haiti deployment is the Sri Lankan army's first major overseas assignment.

The French embassy conducted classes in conversational French for the Haiti-bound soldiers.