By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Kenya has sent an additional 217 police officers to Haiti as part of a multinational force aimed at curbing gang violence ravaging the Caribbean nation, the East African nation’s Interior Minister said on Saturday.
According to the minister, Kipchumba Murkomen, the police officers departed Kenya on Friday.
“The Kenya-led mission has made tremendous progress in reducing gang violence, earning praise across the globe,” Murkomen said as he shared a photo of himself with some of the officers aboard a plane.
Kenya’s “commitment to this historic mission is unwavering,” he added.
Kenya first deployed troops to Haiti in June, and the total deployment now exceeds 600. Kenya’s President, William Ruto, has pledged to deploy 1,000 troops as part of the UN-backed force in Haiti.
Gang violence has left more than 700,000 Haitians homeless in recent years, with many forced into makeshift and unsanitary shelters after gunmen razed their homes.
More than 5,600 people were reported killed across Haiti last year, according to the United Nations.
The number of killings increased by over 20% compared with all of 2023, according to the UN Human Rights Office.
Additionally, more than 2,200 people were reported injured, and nearly 1,500 kidnapped, the agency said.
