Kenyan Mission To Haiti Returns Home, Some Officers Remain

HAITI – Kenyan police are beginning a gradual draw-down from the multinational security support mission in Haiti, as a new U.N.-backed force prepares to take over security operations.

Mission spokesperson Jack Mbaka says some officers will remain temporarily during the transition, while replacement troops under the Gang Suppression Force are expected to start arriving as early as April.

The force, supported heavily by funding from the United States, is expected to eventually field about 5,500 personnel.

Kenya has already started sending officers home in batches, including more than 200 who returned last week but officials have not given a final date for a full withdrawal.

The mission, which began in 2023 to help counter Haiti’s gang crisis, has so far cost the lives of three Kenyan officers and deployed far fewer troops than security analysts say were needed to stabilize the country.