Haiti welcomes Kenyan offer to lead multinational force to quell gang violence

Haiti has welcomed "with great interest" a Kenyan offer to lead a 1,000-strong multinational force to bolster security in the country that has been wracked by gang violence.

Foreign Minister Jean Victor Geneus released a statement on Sunday, saying "Haiti appreciates this expression of African solidarity and looks forward to welcoming Kenya's proposed evaluation mission." 

On Saturday, Kenya announced that it was prepared to deploy 1,000 police agents to help train and support their Haitian counterparts in combating the violent gangs that have taken control of much of capital Port-au-Prince.

Kenya's Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua posted that "Kenya has accepted to positively consider leading a Multinational Force to Haiti."

UN approval required

However, a Kenyan-led deployment would still require a mandate from the United Nations Security Council, as well as formal agreement by local authorities.

The council has asked Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to present by mid-August a report on possible options for Haiti, including a UN-led mission.

US diplomats have been actively seeking a country to head a multinational force.

Mutua said Kenya would send an "evaluation mission" to Haiti in coming weeks.

Kenya, seen as a democratic anchor in East Africa, has participated in peacekeeping operations in its own region, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.

Gang rule

Gangs in Haiti control roughly 80 percent of Port-au-Prince, and violent crimes including kidnappings for ransom, carjackings, rapes and armed thefts are common.

With a weak government and its security forces overwhelmed, the country – the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere – has seen compounding humanitarian, political and security crises.

Both Prime Minister Ariel Henry and the UN's Guterres have been calling for an international intervention for over a year.

Up to now, no country had stepped forward.

• Haiti asks US, UN for military aid after assassination of President Moise

A UN peacekeeping mission was in operation in Haiti from 2004 to 2017 but fell out of favor after a cholera outbreak traced to infected UN personnel from Nepal claimed 9,500 lives.  

This week, the United States ordered nonessential embassy personnel and their families to leave Haiti as soon as possible.

Only last Thursday, a young American nurse and her infant child were kidnapped in the country, according to the Christian aid group for which she works.