Port-au-Prince, Jan 18 (Reuters) - On Saturday, Kenya dispatched more than 200 police officers to Haiti as reinforcement for an undermanned security operation in the Caribbean nation, grappling with widespread gang violence affecting over a million people.
In an international collaborative effort, a total of 10 countries have committed to providing over 3,100 troops to support the U.N.-backed anti-gang campaign in Haiti, yet only a handful have deployed thus far.
Kenya's Interior Minister, Kipchumba Murkomen, announced that the additional unit consists of 217 Kenyan police officers, supplementing the 400 sent the previous year.
Expressing Kenya's steadfast dedication to the mission, Murkomen stated in a social media post, "Our commitment to this historic mission is unwavering, and we will continue to mobilise all necessary international support for its success."
Initially, Kenya pledged to deploy a total of 1,000 personnel to the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, taking the lead in furnishing manpower.
Nevertheless, amidst reports of delayed pay and substandard conditions, it was noted that around 20 individuals from the initial deployment in the anti-gang campaign had tendered resignation letters.
Contrary to these reports, the MSS, led by senior Kenyan police officials in Haiti, clarified that salaries had been disbursed to their personnel, asserting that no resignations had been received.
Joining the anti-gang initiative, Guatemala, El Salvador, Jamaica, and Belize have also contributed law enforcement officers to the cause.