New York Times: Kenya Hits Pause on Police Deployment to Haiti
The deployment of 1,000 Kenyan police officers to Haiti to help quell gang-fueled lawlessness is on hold until a new government is formed in the Caribbean country, Kenyan officials said Tuesday.
Kenya had agreed to send a security force to Haiti, but that agreement was made with Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who agreed Monday evening to step down once a new transitional government is formed.
“The agreement signed with the president still stands, although the deployment will not happen now because we will definitely need a government in place to work with,” said Salim Swaleh, one of the main spokespersons. word of the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Indeed, we do not deploy the police on the streets of Port-au-Prince without an administration in place.
Haiti’s prime minister has announced plans to resign after being stranded for days in Puerto Rico following the takeover of much of the Haitian capital by gangs, preventing him from returning. His decision followed several days of violent attacks on police stations, prisons, the main airport, the seaport and other public institutions.
Mr. Henry’s resignation added uncertainty to an already chaotic situation on the Caribbean island, which has been hit in recent months by an extraordinary wave of gang violence.
Mr. Henry, 74, had traveled to Kenya to make final arrangements for the East African country to deploy 1,000 police officers to Haiti to help quell the violence. The mission was approved by the United Nations and largely funded by the United States, which pledged Monday to provide additional aid.
The mission had already been delayed by Kenyan court rulings, but the agreement signed by Mr. Henry and Kenya was intended to remove the final legal hurdle for the deployment to take place.
Gang leaders took advantage of Mr. Henry’s absence to take to the streets and wreak havoc. Orchestrated attacks on two prisons freed thousands of inmates. Gunfire at the main airport in the capital Port-au-Prince forced the suspension of flights; houses were ransacked and looted throughout the city.
Every day, the United Nations reports that civilians have been killed by gang fire.
