The deployment comes amid escalating gang violence in Kenscoff, where around 150 people were killed in late January, according to the human rights organization Fondasyon Je Klere (FJKL).

The newly arrived officers bring Kenya’s total deployment in Haiti to 744, part of its 1,000-force pledge from 2023.

As usual, Haitian leaders, including president of the Transitional Presidential Council Leslie Voltaire, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, MSS leader Godfrey Otunge and foreign diplomats welcomed the Kenyan police officers.

With the new additions, the total number of MSS members has reached 1,003. The multinational force includes police and military officers from Kenya, Jamaica, Belize, the Bahamas, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

Although delayed, this increase in personnel provides additional strike power for a mission that has thus far struggled to intervene on multiple fronts targeted by gangs.

Kenyan Interior Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, who announced the reinforcements for the MSS, emphasized his country’s commitment to Haiti’s security.

“Kenya’s leadership in this noble mission, supported by the United Nations Trust Fund for Haiti, reaffirms our longstanding contribution to peacekeeping operations,” the Secretary said.

Otunge assured that the mission remains operational despite funding challenges, with ongoing reviews of CASEVAC and MEDEVAC helicopter operations from El Salvador.