Several hundred police from Kenya have arrived in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, where the main international airport reopened in late May after gang violence forced it to close for nearly three months.
Kenyan police at Toussaint Louverture International Airport after landing in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, June 25. Photo: AP
It is unclear what the Kenyan police will do first, but they will face violent gangs that control 80 percent of Haiti’s capital and have left more than 580,000 people homeless across the country. The gangs have also killed thousands in recent years.
The arrival of Kenyan police marks the fourth major foreign military intervention in Haiti. Romain Le Cour, senior fellow at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, called on the international community and government officials to share details, including the operation’s rules of engagement and operations.
Hours after Kenyan police landed, Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille thanked the East African nation for its solidarity, noting that gangs had destroyed homes, hospitals and burned libraries, making Haiti "unviable."
"The country is going through a very difficult time... We will start taking action little by little to take back the country," he told a news conference.
Mr Conille said Kenyan police would be deployed in the coming days, but he did not provide details. Former Kenyan foreign minister Monica Juma said Kenyan police would “act as agents of peace , stability and hope”.
"We pledge our solidarity in supporting the Haitian National Police to restore public order and security. We hope that this will not become a long-term mission," she said.
The deployment comes nearly four months after gangs launched coordinated attacks on key government infrastructure in the Haitian capital, seizing control of more than 20 police stations, opening fire on the main international airport and storming Haiti’s two largest prisons, freeing more than 4,000 inmates.
“Although gang violence appears to have declined from its peak earlier this year, the country’s security situation remains dire,” the UN Security Council said on June 21. More than 2,500 people were killed or injured in the first three months of this year, up more than 50 percent from the same period last year.
Many Haitians live in fear. According to the United Nations, an estimated 1.6 million Haitians are on the brink of starvation, the highest number recorded since the devastating 2010 earthquake.
Ngoc Anh (according to AP)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/canh-sat-nuoc-ngoai-den-haiti-chuan-bi-doi-mat-voi-cac-bang-dang-post300819.html
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