Nairobi, July 17: Another 200 Kenyan police officers have departed for Haiti as part of a UN-backed mission aimed at combating widespread gang violence in the Caribbean nation, senior police officials confirmed on Tuesday.
The deployment follows Kenya’s earlier dispatch of 400 officers to Port-au-Prince in June, part of a commitment to send a total of 1,000 officers to help stabilize Haiti amid ongoing unrest and protests against President William Ruto.
“We have 200 police officers who left last night and are expected to land in Haiti this morning,” a senior police officer told AFP. “They are joining their colleagues who are already on the ground.”
According to another senior police source, the officers departed on a chartered plane on Monday night, with more deployments planned until the full contingent of 1,000 officers is achieved.
Kenya, leading a force expected to reach 2,500 personnel, has spearheaded the mission with contributions from other African and Caribbean countries. Despite initial legal challenges in Kenya, the deployment was authorized by a UN Security Council resolution in October and finalized with a bilateral agreement with Haiti in March.
The mission has received support from the United States in terms of funding and logistics, though President Joe Biden has ruled out US military involvement on Haitian soil. Human Rights Watch has expressed concerns over the mission’s effectiveness and the conduct of Kenyan police, previously accused of excessive force and unlawful killings.
Haiti has been plagued by escalating gang violence, exacerbated by attacks earlier in the year aimed at destabilizing the government. The situation has severely impacted food security and humanitarian aid access in Port-au-Prince, where gangs control significant parts of the city, engaging in crimes such as murder, rape, looting, and kidnappings.