Aug 31, Colombo: Defense Ministry report said that Sri Lankan peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) have helped victims of Hurricane Gustav in the aftermath of the storm.

In the immediate aftermath of the storm, members of the Sri Lankan battalion distributed food and water and provided medical support. The peacekeepers have helped clean up the waste and rubble that blocked the main streets.

Sri Lanka contributes almost 1,000 troops and police to the United Nations peacekeeping force in Haiti.

Hurricane Gustav has left a trail of death and destruction in several impoverished Haitian communities leaving 71 people dead in the Caribbean, including eight in the Dominican Republic bordering Haiti.