El Salvador (1985-1989): 1) Information on guerrilla recruitment of young men from the army; 2) Information on the Salvadorean army; 3) Areas controlled by the army and the guerrillas
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 February 1990 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SLV3591 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, El Salvador (1985-1989): 1) Information on guerrilla recruitment of young men from the army; 2) Information on the Salvadorean army; 3) Areas controlled by the army and the guerrillas, 1 February 1990, SLV3591, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6abc14c.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
1) According to Americas Watch, [ As reported in The Civilian Toll, 1987, pp. 108-111.] the Salvadorean army has not been able to fully avoid infiltration of guerrillas and collaborators among its troops, despite the army's practice of sudden forced recruitment reportedly aimed at reducing such infiltrations. However, the available reports do not indicate whether infiltrators could have been recruited once they were in the army. Other reports on the subject could not be found among the sources currently available to the IRBDC.
2) For some detailed information on the Salvadorean army, please find attached the following articles:
-"El Salvador's Army: A Force Unto Itself", in The New York Times Magazine, 10 December 1989, pp. 47, 95, 97;
-"El Salvador", in World Defence Almanac 1986-1987, (Bonn: Mönch Publishing Group, December 1986), p. 97.
For more information on the Salvadorean army, including references to operational tactics and location of garrisons, please refer to the maps listed below and the articles in which they are found (also attached).
3) Although a strict definition of "control" may not be applied to many areas affected by guerrilla warfare and `low intensity conflict', please find attached maps of various years defining areas of El Salvador of frequent, significant and/or permanent guerrilla presence, in some cases described as control. These include:
-Keesing's Record of World Events, (London, Longman Publishing Group), July 1985, p. 33715;
-"La guerre d'usure", from L'etat des conflits dans le Monde, (Paris: Le Monde, 1989), p. 15, an article first published in 1986;
-"The shifting battle-front", in The Christian Science Monitor, 7-13 November 1988, pp. 16-17;
-Map of El Salvador from the draft of the IRBDC's 1989 Country Profile on that country;
-"El Salvador Civil War", in The World in Conflict 1989, (London: Brassey's Defence Publishers, 1989), p. 56.
Unfortunately, a French language translation of texts in English could not be made in time to meet the stated deadline.