Kenyan Forces Deploy to Haiti
Around 200 officers, equipped with camouflage uniforms, helmets, and rifles, disembarked from a Kenya Airways plane onto the tarmac in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. More troops are expected to arrive on Thursday. Led by Kenya, a total of 2,500 personnel, primarily from Africa and the Caribbean, will be sent to Haiti for this United Nations-supported but not managed mission.
Garry Conille, Haiti’s acting prime minister in the new transitional government, stated that the arrival of the forces presents a “unique opportunity” to finally end the successive crises plaguing the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
U.S. President Joe Biden, while pledging generous funding for the mission despite refusing to send American military personnel, hailed the arrival of the Kenyans as “the beginning of an effort to bring much-needed aid to the Haitian people.” Biden emphasized, “The people of Haiti deserve to feel safe in their homes, build better lives for their families, and enjoy democratic freedoms.”
Kenyan President William Ruto, in a ceremony in Nairobi on Monday, described the mission as a “historic” act of solidarity while bidding farewell to the police officers. However, Kenya witnessed violence a day later, with protesters storming parliament and a fire breaking out in the governor’s office. NGOs raised concerns about how Kenyan forces would handle unrest in Haiti, noting that Kenyan police fired live ammunition in Nairobi, resulting in at least five deaths and dozens of injuries.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, when asked if the violence in Nairobi raised concerns about the Haiti mission, emphasized that the U.S. and other nations were “vetting Kenyan personnel” and highlighted the importance of human rights.
The multinational force, approved by the UN Security Council last year, had been delayed due to a Kenyan court asking the government to form a bilateral agreement with Haiti. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the deployment, calling on the international community to cover the mission’s expenses.
Guterres’s spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, urged all member states to ensure the mission receives the financial support it needs to succeed. Washington has pledged up to $360 million for the mission but has refused to send troops to Haiti, where the U.S. has a long history of interventions.
Hopes for Stability and Mission Participants
Other countries expressing willingness to join the mission include Benin, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, and Chad. Haiti has long been plagued by gang violence, which sharply escalated when armed groups launched coordinated attacks in late February, aiming to overthrow then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
Henry announced in early March that he would resign and transfer executive power to a transitional council, which appointed Garry Conille as the country’s interim prime minister on May 29.
As violence in Port-au-Prince affects food security and humanitarian aid access, much of the city has fallen under the control of gangs accused of murder, rape, looting, and kidnapping.
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