Kenya sent more than 200 police officers to Haiti on Saturday, providing backup to an understaffed security mission in the Caribbean country where rampant gang violence has displaced more than a million people.
Kenya’s interior minister Kipchumba Murkomen said the new group comprised 217 police officers who would join about 400 officers sent last year.
“Our commitment to the historic mission is unwavering and we will continue to mobilise all the necessary international support for it to succeed,” he said in a social media post.
Kenya has led the effort to staff the multinational security support (MSS) mission, originally promising to deploy a total of 1,000 people.
However, Reuters reported last month that nearly 20 officers in the initial deployment submitted letters of resignation from the anti-gang mission due to pay delays and poor conditions.
The MSS in Haiti, led by top Kenyan police officers, said in response its offers had received their salaries and it had not received resignations.
Guatemala, El Salvador, Jamaica and Belize have also contributed officers to the anti-gang effort.