Kenya has pledged to send 600 more police to Haiti in the coming weeks to help fight gangs that control much of the capital Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas.
This will bring the total number of Kenyan troops, deployed gradually since June to support the Caribbean nation’s struggling police force, to 1,000.
During his visit to the country, Kenyan President William Ruto also said he supported converting the current Kenya-led security mission into a full-fledged UN peacekeeping operation.
Several other countries have jointly pledged to send at least 1,900 additional troops.
Violence remains rife in Haiti and a UN human rights expert has warned that gangs are targeting new areas, causing further displacement.
The UN Security Council is scheduled to meet later this month to decide whether to extend Kenya’s current mandate for another 12 months, paving the way for a full UN mission in 2025.
This will result in additional funding and resources for operations that are already hampered by lack of equipment.
Addressing Kenyan police officers at their base in Port-au-Prince, President Ruto commended the force for its successes over the past few months.
“There were many people who thought Haiti was an impossible mission, but today they have changed their minds because of the progress you have made.”
He said they would be successful in fighting the gangs and promised to try to provide them with better equipment.
Nearly 400 Kenyan officers on the ground are conducting patrols “working closely with Haitian forces to protect civilians and restore security,” Ruto said.
“Our next batch, another 600, are undergoing redeployment training. We will be ready to deploy in a few weeks and look forward to the support we need to deploy them,” he added.
But there has been some criticism in Haiti for the lack of decisive action against the gangs.
A UN human rights expert who was there recently said the mission was ill-equipped and needed helicopters, as well as night vision goggles and drones.
“The Multinational Security Assistance Mission (MSS), authorized by the UN Security Council in October 2023, has so far deployed less than a quarter of its planned troops,” William O’Neil said on Friday.
Despite international embargoes, weapons and ammunition continue to be smuggled into the country, allowing gangs to expand their control into new territories, he said.
The UN expert visited the south-east of the country, where he said police lacked the logistical and technical capacity to combat the gangs.
“The situation is almost impossible,” he quoted a police officer in Jérémie as saying. “We have to learn to walk on water.”
Sexual violence has increased significantly and more than 700,000 people have been displaced, Mr O’Neil said.
“This endless pain must end. It is a race against time.”
Solutions were available, he said, but efforts needed to be “increased immediately”.
“It is important to stop the gangs by providing the MSS Mission with the means to effectively support the operations of the Haitian National Police, as well as implementing other measures set forth by the UN Security Council, including the sanctions regime and the targeted arms embargo.”
