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

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s interior minister said the east African nation had deployed another 217 police officer to Haiti as part of a multinational force to curb gang violence.

Kipchumba Murkomen said in a statement Saturday that the police officers departed Kenya Friday.

“The Kenya-led mission has made tremendous progress in reducing gang violence, earning praise across the globe,” said Mukomen, who 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 the Caribbean nation 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 United Nations-backed force in Haiti.

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 U.N. 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.