New contingent of Kenyan police joins UN-backed mission to fight gangs in Haiti

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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A fourth contingent of Kenyan police arrived Thursday in Haiti to help repel violent gangs as officials brushed off concerns over a halt in some U.S. funding to the U.N.-backed mission.

The 200 police officers from the East African country join more than 600 other Kenyans already working alongside Haiti’s National Police as part of a multinational force boosted by soldiers and police deployed by countries including Jamaica, Guatemala and El Salvador.

“We are reaching close to our full strength so the mission can start giving results,” Godfrey Otunge, the mission’s force commander, said as he greeted the new officers at Haiti’s main international airport, which remains closed to commercial flights because of ongoing gang violence.

The latest deployment of Kenyan police comes two days after the U.S. notified the United Nations that it was freezing $13.3 million slated for the mission as part of a sweeping freeze on foreign assistance imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Otunge said in a statement Wednesday that the amount frozen represents less than 3% of ongoing assistance to the mission.

“I want to assure everyone, especially the people of Haiti, that the mission remains on track,” he said.

He noted that the U.S. and other partner countries are still providing logistical, financial and equipment support, with support flights arriving almost daily.

“Both the Department of Defense and the Department of State remain actively engaged in (the mission’s) operations,” Otunge stated.

The U.S. State Department said it approved waivers for $40.7 million in foreign assistance to help the mission and Haitian police, including contracts to support forward operating bases, medical services and vehicle maintenance.

It noted that as recently as Tuesday, the U.S. delivered “much-needed heavy armored equipment” to the mission and Haitian police.

“The Haitian people need security,” said Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé as he pointed to a plane on the tarmac. “This is all the equipment that we promised is coming in.”

Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader warned Thursday during a news conference with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Haiti represents a threat to the entire region, including the United States.

“There’s no time to lose,” he said as he called for more financial support for the mission. “Haiti is drowning.”

Abinader also called for more humanitarian aid to the violence-wracked country that shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, saying it would help relieve the ongoing crisis and halt a wave of migration that would affect the U.S. and other countries.

“There is no Dominican solution to the Haitian crisis,” he said. “The leadership of the United States is essential and irreplaceable.”

Rubio said the U.S. is committed to supporting the U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police and called for it to be broadened so it could effectively deal with gangs.

He said the issue of Haiti cannot be ignored.

“It’s a tragedy, it’s horrifying, and it needs to be dealt with. … We are going to help,” he said.

Rubio added, however: “I want to be clear; the future of Haiti belongs to the people of Haiti.”

William O’Neill, U.N. designated expert on Haiti, said Thursday that the mission plays a crucial role in helping local officers establish security.

“The Haitian National Police are outnumbered and outgunned by the gangs,” he said. “Steady and predictable funding for the (mission) requires all states to contribute, especially those in the region. More stability in Haiti will reduce the pressure to migrate, which is in everyone’s interest.”

Earlier, Rubio spoke with Kenyan President William Ruto to thank him for his country’s leadership of the mission in Haiti, which remains fully operational, and Kenya’s role in promoting peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The mission, which began last year, is struggling with a lack of funding and personnel as gangs that control 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, keep seizing more territory.

An ongoing, weeklong attack in an upscale community near the capital has killed some 150 people, Marie Yolène Gilles of the nonprofit Fondasyon Je Klere told Magik9 radio station on Wednesday.

She said more than 100 homes also were set on fire.

The attack on Kenscoff that began Jan. 27 has left more than 1,660 people homeless, according to the International Organization for Migration.

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Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

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