Kenya deploys 217 more police officers to Haiti under UN-backed mission to tackle gang violence

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya has deployed 217 more police officers to Haiti as part of a multinational force to curb gang violence plaguing the Caribbean nation, Kenya’s interior minister said on Saturday.

According to the minister, Kipchumba Murkomen, the police officers departed from Kenya on Friday.

“The Kenya-led mission has made tremendous progress in reducing gang violence, earning praise across the globe,” Mukomen 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 said.

Kenya first sent 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 U.N.-backed force in Haiti.

The plane transporting police from Kenya, who are part of a UN-backed multinational force, lands at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025.(AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Gang violence has left more than 700,000 Haitians homeless in recent years, with many crowding 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 more than 20% compared with all of 2023, according to the U.N. Human Rights Office.

In addition, more than 2,200 people were reported injured and nearly 1,500 kidnapped, it said.