Kenya deploys hundreds of police to Haiti to relieve forces, aiming to curb gangs controlling 90% of the capital amid a prolonged security crisis
PORT-AU-PRINCE: Kenya deployed hundreds of additional police officers to Haiti on Monday to relieve forces ending their mission.
The move aims to maintain pressure on the Caribbean nation’s powerful criminal gangs amid an unabated political and security crisis.
Gangs have long ravaged Haiti, with instability worsening since early 2024 when they forced then-prime minister Ariel Henry to resign.
The United Nations estimates armed groups now control 90% of the capital Port-au-Prince.
Murders, rapes, looting and kidnappings are rampant there amid chronic political instability.
The UN Security Council in 2023 approved sending a Kenya-led multinational security mission to aid overwhelmed Haitian police.
The under-equipped and underfunded team has only about 1,000 of its expected 2,500 officers.
A Haitian government source told AFP that 230 Kenyan police officers arrived on Monday while 100 others ended their mission.
The UN Security Council approved development of a more robust anti-gang force for Haiti at the end of September.
Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, has not held elections in nine years.
The nation is currently under a transitional government.
Legislative and presidential elections have been slated for summer 2026. – AFP
