Haiti was under siege on Thursday, February 29 as Prime Minister Ariel Henry arrived in Kenya to sign an agreement for the deployment of 1,000 police officers to help restore peace in his country.
This is after a gang staged an attack on the country’s main international airport, police stations and government agencies, paralysing normal operations.
Henry Friday attended a public lecture at the United States International University (USIU) in Nairobi ahead of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding to enable the deployment.
He was also scheduled to attend an event at State House on Friday to sign the agreement.
He had Thursday met President William Ruto who said he would support the mission to fight the gang.
Heavy gunfire paralyzed Haiti’s capital on Thursday as a powerful gang leader warned he would try to capture the country’s police chief and government ministers.
Gunmen shot at Haiti’s main international airport and other targets in a wave of violence that caught many people by surprise, forcing businesses, government agencies and schools to close early as parents and young children fled through the streets in panic.
At least four police officers, including two women, were killed in an attack on a station near the community of Canaan, according to a police union.
During the attack, the leader of a gang federation directed his men to launch assaults near police stations, which led to the deaths of four police officers.
In a video circulating on social media, the leader disclosed that the goal was to seize control of government ministries to liberate the country. He warned Henry not to return from Kenya.
“With our guns and with the Haitian people, we will free the country,” he stated.
It was not clear if Chérizier’s faction, known as G9 Family and Allies, had the backing of other major gangs that are estimated to control up to 80 percent of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince.
The wave of violence persisted in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, as the gang continued to infiltrate the city in coordinated attacks.
The gang’s armoured vehicles patrolled the city, showcasing their might, while other members remained stationed near slums.
The attacks came days after Henry met in Guyana with Caribbean leaders, who said he pledged to hold long-awaited general elections by mid-2025.
It is the third time he has announced such a deadline, with previous promises made in 2022 and 2023.
Henry flew from Guyana to Kenya in hopes of moving forward on the deployment of Kenyan police officers to Haiti.
A court ruled last month that the proposed deployment was unconstitutional, but Henry and Kenyan officials have been working on a deal that would allow forces to arrive in Haiti soon.
Kenya which will lead the team to combat the gangs plans to deploy more than 1,000 officers to Haiti to help in the mission.
The teams are from the Rapid Deployment Unit, Anti Stock Theft Unit, General Service Unit, and Border Patrol Unit.
Plans are that Henry and other Kenyan security officials will sign a Memorandum of understanding to enable the process of deployment of the team to go on as planned.
This is after Haiti’s government announced on February 14 that it was working on an official agreement with Kenyan officials to secure the long-awaited deployment of a police force from Nairobi.
The developments come amid revelations Benin has offered to contribute 2,000 troops to the UN-approved Kenyan-led multinational security force that will be deployed to fight gang violence in Haiti.
A US statement issued on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro last week had announced “financial, personnel, and in-kind commitments to the mission” from Benin, France and Canada, the latter of which later announced 80.5 million Canadian dollars ($60 million) for the mission.
The US has committed $200 million and pledged to boost efforts to stem the flow of illicit arms to the Caribbean region. The UN estimates firearms held by Haitian gangs are largely smuggled from the United States.
The UN has said that 800 people have been killed, injured or kidnapped in Haiti during January, representing a three fold increase to January 2023.
Source-https://www.the-star.co.ke/
Haiti under siege as Prime Minister Ariel Henry visits Kenya
