Nairobi. Kenya is ready to lead a multinational force in Haiti, the African country’s foreign minister said in a statement on Saturday, amid growing violence between police and gangs seen in the Caribbean territory.
Haiti has seen an escalation of violence by armed gangs, sparking a humanitarian crisis that has displaced tens of thousands of people.
Earlier this month, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on the Security Council and potential contributing countries to act quickly to create the conditions for the deployment of a multinational force in Haiti.
“At the request of the Group of Nations Friends of Haiti, Kenya has agreed to positively consider leading a Multinational Force to Haiti,” Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua said in a statement.
“Kenya’s commitment is to deploy a contingent of 1,000 police officers to help train and support the Haitian police in restoring normality to the country and protecting strategic facilities,” he added.
Haiti’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mutua said the planned deployment from Kenya is still subject to obtaining a UN Security Council mandate and obtaining clearances from Kenya.
“An assessment mission by a Kenyan police task force is scheduled for the next few weeks,” he said.
