The initial proposal by Kenyan authorities to guard existing important infrastructure was not exactly what the Haitian authorities were hoping to obtain when calling for UN aid, according to media reports. One diplomatic source told reporters in Florida that the infrastructure that Kenya wants to protect (the airport, port facilities, and the major highways) are already controlled by the gangs. To protect these, it would be necessary to get rid of the gangs first, say the critics.
The recent visit by the working group headed by the Foreign Minister of Kenya was reportedly to evaluate the objective of the police mission that has yet to be approved by the government of Kenya. In a highly protected meeting with Haitian officials, members of the United Nations team and a 10-member delegation from Kenya reportedly offered a “static protection force.”
The key issue is that many of the Haitian officials are not perceiving the assistance from Kenya as what they wanted when nearly a year ago they asked for international intervention to restore order in the country. It was also revealed, again anonymously, that Kenya had yet to commit itself to the fulfillment of its offer considered to be an urgent request and backed by the Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres.
After Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry urged the world in October 2022 to deploy an armed force to fight the gangs, the United Nations has struggled to persuade a nation to lead efforts to restore order in the Caribbean country in part due to past controversy over peacekeeping missions. As reported, the United States unsuccessfully tried to persuade Canada to lead a force, with nothing yet to show.
Haiti Libre reports that after the visit to Port-au-Prince, the Kenyan delegation stopped over on 25 August 2023 in New York for a follow-up meeting attended by the United States, Ecuador and the Permanent Representative of Haiti to the United Nations, Antonio Rodrigue. At the end of this meeting, Kenya said it was now in favor of deploying an offensive operational force to fight armed gangs in Haiti.
On Saturday, 26 August 2023 about a hundred members of the Armed Forces of Haiti (FAd’H) left the country for Mexico to receive a month-long special forces training, of which 14 Haitians will be trained in the piloting of drones.
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Haiti Libre
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Listin Diario
28 August 2023