US donates helicopters to El Salvador for peacekeeping mission
Four MD 530s, as well as other US-supplied equipment will support El Salvador's component of the MINUSMA force in Mali. (Photo: El Salvador Minister of Defence)
El Salvador’s military has received four MD 530 helicopters as part of a US State Department donation to support the Central American country’s United Nations commitments in Mali.
The US government donated four MD 530 helicopters to El Salvador’s military on 26 October. The aircraft will support the country’s operations in the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).
According to US Southern Command, the donation was funded through the State Department’s Global Peace Operations Initiative. As of 30 June, El Salvador has 174 troops and two staff officers assigned to MINUSMA, according to UN statistics. However, the Central American country has not disclosed when the aircraft will be deployed.
Apart from the helicopters, Washington also transferred one firefighting truck, vehicles for water transport and electricity generators, said the
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