- Over 200 Kenyan police officers are preparing to deploy to Haiti following the reopening of the country’s main airports, which had been closed after gang gunfire struck planes
- The officers, including an all-female SWAT team, are set to join 400 Kenyan forces already in Haiti as part of a mission to restore stability in the violence-torn nation
- Their deployment comes as Haiti grapples with escalating gang control, which has claimed over 5,000 lives this year and displaced more than 700,000 people
Over 200 Kenyan police officers are preparing to deploy to the Caribbean nation, a mission set into motion after the reopening of its main airports.
The Toussaint Louverture International Airport and Guy Malary Domestic Airport had been shuttered for weeks following a harrowing attack on November 11, where gang gunfire struck planes operated by Spirit Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and American Airlines.
Although no passengers were injured, the incident left a Spirit Airlines flight attendant wounded and forced the diversion of several flights, prompting authorities to ground operations in Port-au-Prince.
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This marked yet another blow to the fragile nation, where armed gangs now control a staggering 80% of the capital.
The reopening of the airports has revived Kenya’s plans to send reinforcements to bolster the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS).
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The deployment includes an all-female Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit, trained for combat and critical gender-related operations, alongside officers from elite units like the General Service Unit (GSU).
With their deployment scheduled to begin as early as December 14, they are set to join the 400 Kenyan officers already on the ground in Haiti, striving to stabilize a nation that has lost more than 5,000 lives to gang violence this year.
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The mission comes at a critical juncture.
Last weekend alone, nearly 200 lives were lost in Port-au-Prince in one of the bloodiest episodes yet, as a gang leader orchestrated killings targeting voodoo practitioners.
Haitian police, supported by Kenyan forces, have managed to recapture key areas, including the Liancourt Police Station in the Artibonite Department.
However, the grip of violence remains unrelenting, displacing over 700,000 people, half of them children, according to the UN.
