Kenyan special forces officers arrived in Haiti amid escalating instability in the Caribbean nation. Image source: ANISOM Public Information, via Flickr.
A team of Kenyan special forces officers landed in Port-au-Prince on Monday 20 May as part of a multinational security support mission for Haiti.
The team of 10 operatives left Nairobi on Saturday and another 200 are expected to arrive later this week, The Star reported.
Their arrival in Haiti coincides with President William Ruto’s state visit to the United States.
Ruto is scheduled to meet with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday to discuss operations in Haiti.
The United Nations Security Council authorised the mission last year and is expected to number about 2,500 members.
About 1,000 Kenyan police are slated to join the mission alongside officers from Burundi, Chad, Chile, Grenada, Jamaica, Mauritius, Nigeria, and Paraguay.
Reportedly, the first Kenyan agents to arrive in Haiti will come from elite paramilitary units who have experience combating Al-Shabaab fighters on the eastern border with Somalia.
Efforts were delayed after criminal organisations launched an attack on Port-au-Prince in February, leading to the resignation of former Prime Minister Ariel Henry in April.
The advance team arrived Port-au-Prince as the capital reopened its airport, nearly three months after gang attacks forced it to close.
They are expected to assess the equipment and facilities prepared for the foreign police forces, as well as meeting with UN and US representatives.
A source told CNN the Kenyan delegation’s assessment will be crucial in determining a timeline for further deployments.
Supporters of the mission say the deployment is necessary to restore security in Haiti as the nation has faced years of escalating gang violence and political instability.
Quincy Institute non-resident fellow Samar al-Bulushi said the Haiti mission has been met with “considerable opposition” among Kenyans.
“There was zero public consultation about the decision to lead this mission to Haiti, and I think a lot of Kenyans are frustrated about that fact,” said al-Bulushi.
Al-Bulushi said Kenya’s decision to lead the operation “represents the culmination” of Nairobi’s years-long efforts to build strong ties to Washington.
Opposition MP Millie Odhiambo told the New York Times, “This mission is a death trap.”
According to the UN, about 362,000 people have been internally displaced because of the violence in Haiti, “half of them children”.
