Kenya to complete full deployment to Haiti by January: president

The National Times - Kenya to complete full deployment to Haiti by January: president

Kenya to complete full deployment to Haiti by January: president / Photo: © AFP/File

Kenya will complete by January its full deployment of a stabilization force in violence-torn Haiti, President William Ruto said Thursday, as he appealed for greater funding to assist other contributing countries.

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Funding for the mission to combat widespread lawlessness and gangsterism has been a sticking point, with the UN previously calling the level of commitments "unacceptable."

"Kenya will deploy the additional contingent towards attaining the target of all the 2,500 police officers by January next year," Ruto said in a speech to the UN General Assembly.

"Kenya and other Caribbean and African countries are ready to deploy, but are hindered by insufficient equipment, logistics and funding," he said.

"I appeal to all member states to stand in solidarity with the people of Haiti by providing necessary support, either directly to MSS contributing countries or through the UN trust fund," he said, using the acronym for the Multinational Security Support Mission.

Criminal gangs control more than 80 percent of the capital Port-au-Prince, as well as key roads around the country.

Haitian interim prime minister Garry Conille warned Wednesday that "we're nowhere near winning this" as he stressed the battle against the gangs would not be won without outside help.

The United States announced on Wednesday $160 million of new aid for Haiti, bringing the amount of US aid to the troubled Caribbean country to $1.3 billion since 2021.

The coordinator of Haiti's transitional council, Edgard Leblanc Fils, said his country still needed "much more in terms of personnel and also equipment to be able to solve the security problems and allow elections to take place."

Washington on Wednesday also announced sanctions against two Haitians.

N.Johns--TNT

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