Police and Soldiers Arrive in Haiti for Kenya-led Mission
Another batch of military and police arrived in Haiti on Thursday, as the country continues to deal with an increase in gang violence. The two dozen men will help the Kenya-led, UN-approved Multinational Security Mission against the gangs, which have taken control of 80 percent of the capital.
Their arrival in Haiti coincides with the US government’s announcement that the mission requires additional resources. The head of the Multinational Kenyan Police Force expressed gratitude for the new members, adding, “I would like to welcome our brothers from Jamaica and Belize, for this special mission that we are undertaking.”
The army and police will offer planning, leadership, and logistics support.
Jamaica has agreed to provide 200 soldiers in all, but claims it cannot do so all at once. The Multinational Force is planned to include 2,500 members; several other nations, notably Chad, the Bahamas, and Bangladesh, have pledged to contribute officers and soldiers, but the timeline for their arrival is unknown.
The increase in gang violence in Haiti has forced roughly 580,000 people to evacuate their homes, plunging the country into a humanitarian crisis, with approximately 5 million people suffering from extreme hunger.
