Overview:
About 230 Kenyan cops joined the Gang Suppression Pressure (GSF) in Port-au-Prince on Dec. 8, marking one of many largest reinforcements for the reason that transition from the Multinational Safety Mission to the GSF. Roughly 100 officers returned to Nairobi as a part of the mission’s common rotation. This new contingent is the primary overseas unit formally built-in into the restructured drive, now tasked with neutralizing gangs that proceed to terrorize the capital and the Artibonite area. Commander Godfrey Otunge and Transitional Presidential Council President Laurent Saint-Cyr stated the deployment reveals renewed worldwide dedication to assist Haiti restore safety and put together for nationwide elections.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — About 230 Kenyan cops arrived in Haiti on Monday, Dec. 8, marking the most important new deployment to the Gang Suppression Pressure (GSF) for the reason that mission was reorganized. Their arrival got here as greater than 100 officers already in Haiti boarded flights again to Nairobi as a part of a scheduled rotation.
“I specific my gratitude to the Kenyan cops who’ve arrived and made themselves obtainable to assist the Haitian Nationwide Police and the Armed Forces at this decisive second,” Laurent Saint-Cyr, the President of the Presidential Transitional Council, CPT stated in his welcoming speech of the brand new contingent.
The deployment comes as violence escalates in each Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, significantly Artibonite, the place gangs just lately killed at the very least 20 individuals in Pont-Sondé. Armed teams proceed to hold out kidnappings, arson, and highway blockades, contributing to the displacement of greater than 1.4 million individuals throughout Haiti. This Kenyan contingent is the primary formally built-in below the Gang Suppression Pressure (GSF) — a newly restructured, UN-backed multinational mission changing the under-resourced Multinational Safety Assist (MSS) drive. In contrast to its predecessor, the GSF has a extra aggressive, time-bound mandate: to dismantle gangs, safe key infrastructure, and assist humanitarian entry. As gang violence spreads and public establishments stay overwhelmed, the GSF is meant to symbolize a shift from merely stabilizing Haiti to actively reclaiming territory and reestablishing state management.
Officers name the UN-backed mission an important step towards restoring safety
“Haiti wants this help, and restoring safety is important to allow elections, return to constitutional order, and provide hope for a greater life to present and future generations,” Saint-Cyr stated
For Commander-in-Chief Otunge, this rotation is way over a routine administrative shift. The arrival of this fifth Kenyan contingent since June 2024 sends a transparent message: Kenya intends to face with Haiti till peace is restored. In response to the commander, their mission is simple — to strengthen, consolidate, and speed up the progress already achieved by the GSF, progress marked by the sacrifices and losses endured by each PNH officers and members of the GSF within the line of obligation.
“Haiti wants this help, and restoring safety is important to allow elections, return to constitutional order, and provide hope for a greater life to present and future generations.”
Laurent Saint-Cyr, President of the Presidential Transitional Council
“We are going to defeat the violent actors who’ve held whole communities hostage for much too lengthy. There might be no refuge for individuals who select to oppress and terrorize harmless individuals,” Otunge stated, urging “the Haitian individuals to maintain hope alive, as a result of we are going to win this battle.”
“We is not going to relaxation till we’ve got achieved our shared objective: a safe Haiti, able to holding free, truthful, and credible nationwide elections,” he added.
Regardless of the expanded overseas mission, gang-controlled neighborhoods together with Bel-Air, Croix-des-Bouquets, Croix-des-Missions, Delmas 6, Village de Dieu, and Mirebalais stay below legal management. No leaders of the alliance, Viv Ansanm coalition, the alliance that doesn’t deny involvement in main coordinated assaults, have been arrested.