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Washington (AFP) April 19, 2010 The US military will end its disaster relief mission in Haiti around June 1, nearly six months after sending in thousands of troops in the wake of a devastating earthquake that killed an estimated 220,000 people, a senior officer said Monday. Lieutenant General P.K. Keen, the deputy commander of the US Southern Command, said there were currently about 2,200 US troops deployed in Haiti, down from 22,000 in February at the peak of a massive international aid effort in the weeks that followed the January 12 earthquake. "I expect us to -- on or about 1 June -- to be able to stand down the joint task force," Keen told reporters in Washington. "We will be able to do that because of the capability that's being built up and has built up by civilian organizations, whether it be USAID's increasing capacity, but, more so, the increasing capacity of non-government organizations that are really running much of the humanitarian assistance efforts within the country." About 500 US national guard and reservists will remain in Haiti after that, taking part in disaster relief efforts, he said. For the moment, the US soldiers deployed in Haiti will focus on moving displaced persons from tent camps to areas that offer greater protection against the onset of the rainy season, he said. "It's a work in progress and there's no mistake that obviously the rainy season and hurricane season is approaching, and living in a tent during a hurricane is not optimal," he said. Keen said the security situation in Haiti "remains calm" despite isolated incidents of violence.
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