Kenya deploys additional 144 police to Haiti

  • News
  • February 6, 2025

The police contingent, which Kenya’s interior ministry said earlier included 144 officers, was greeted at the international airport in Port-au-Prince by interim Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime and Leslie Voltaire, head of Haiti’s presidential transition council.

It’s the second foreign contingent to arrive in just a few days, following 60 Salvadoran officers on Tuesday.

Kenya is leading the mission, which aims to help Haiti’s national police push back against gangs which control large parts of the country, including the majority of the capital.

Nairobi previously sent 400 officers in December and over 200 last month — with the latest reinforcements bringing the total to around 1,000.

Despite the deployment, Haiti continues to suffer from crippling instability due to rampant gang violence.

On Monday, the capital was once again plunged into panic following threats made by influential gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, known as “Barbecue.”

In the Kenscoff area in the capital region, a series of armed attacks have left at least 150 dead in recent days, according to a provisional toll released by the FJKL rights group.

Last year, at least 5,601 people were killed in gang-related violence, a thousand more than in 2023, according to the UN. The UN also recorded 315 lynchings of people allegedly affiliated with gangs as well as 281 cases of alleged summary executions by police.

Gang violence has forced many Haitians to flee their homes, with the UN’s migration agency putting the figure of displaced people around the country at over a million.

The future of the security mission was thrown into disarray for a short period this week after the US government moved to cut off aid as part of a larger halt to international funding under President Donald Trump.

But Secretary of State Marco Rubio later issued a waiver so that funding for the Haiti mission would proceed.

Related Posts

  • February 25, 2025
  • 71 views
Transgender religious order gets rare approval at India Hindu festival

Prayagraj (India) (AFP) – Transgender activists often shunned by society say they have found rare acceptance at India’s Hindu Kumbh Mela festival by giving blessings to pilgrims attending the world’s largest religious gathering.

  • February 25, 2025
  • 69 views
Stuck in eternal drought, UAE turns to AI to make it rain

Abu Dhabi (AFP) – In the marbled halls of a luxury hotel, leading experts are discussing a new approach to an age-old problem: how to make it rain in the UAE, the wealthy Gulf state that lies in one of the world’s biggest deserts.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You Missed

Transgender religious order gets rare approval at India Hindu festival

  • February 25, 2025
  • 71 views
Transgender religious order gets rare approval at India Hindu festival

Stuck in eternal drought, UAE turns to AI to make it rain

  • February 25, 2025
  • 69 views
Stuck in eternal drought, UAE turns to AI to make it rain

Trump's chip tariff threats raise stakes for Taiwan

  • February 25, 2025
  • 71 views
Trump's chip tariff threats raise stakes for Taiwan

Galatasaray accuse Mourinho of 'racist statements' after derby

  • February 25, 2025
  • 86 views
Galatasaray accuse Mourinho of 'racist statements' after derby

Fears of US public health crises grow amid falling vaccination rates

  • February 25, 2025
  • 83 views
Fears of US public health crises grow amid falling vaccination rates

Latin American classics get the streaming treatment

  • February 25, 2025
  • 69 views
Latin American classics get the streaming treatment