Kenyan Forces’ Mission in Haiti’s Gang-Controlled Capital

In Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, two-year-old Shaina receives an intravenous drip at one of the city’s limited operational hospitals. Her mother, Venda, holds out hope that this treatment will relieve the severe malnutrition afflicting her frail young daughter. Shaina represents one of 760,000 Haitian children facing imminent famine. For weeks, Venda was too scared to depart her residence to find medical help for her daughter, due to the intense gang violence in her area. Having now reached the paediatric ward, she hopes it is not too late for Shaina. Tearfully, she states, “I want to get proper care for my child, I don’t want to lose her.” A surge of gang violence has overwhelmed Haiti since the 2021 assassination of then-President Jovenel Moïse, with approximately 85% of the capital now controlled by gangs. Even within medical facilities, Haitian citizens are not secure from the conflict, which the UN reports has claimed 5,000 lives this year and pushed the nation to the brink of collapse. The hospital’s medical director recounted that the day before, police engaged in a confrontation with gang members in the emergency ward, amidst frightened patients. Casualties of the violence are widespread. A particular ward contains numerous young men suffering from gunshot injuries. Pierre is among them. He recounted being hit by a bullet that tore through his collar bone while walking home from work, caught in the crossfire of a street skirmish. Regarding the young men who constitute a significant portion of the groups terrorizing the capital, he commented, “I think if the government were more stable and had put in place better youth programmes, they would not get involved in the gangs.” In response to the escalating violence, the UN Security Council approved the formation of a Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) in October 2023. This Kenyan-led force, primarily funded by the US, was dispatched to Haiti six months prior with the objective of re-establishing law and order. During a patrol in downtown Port-au-Prince, the intensity of the gang violence is evident. Kenyan officers navigate the streets in heavily armoured personnel carriers (APC) through what were once vibrant areas of the capital, now desolate. Businesses and residences are boarded up. Charred vehicles and rubble are stacked high along the side streets, forming barricades erected by gangs to impede access. The convoy maneuvers through the debris when it abruptly encounters gunfire. Bullets strike the APC’s armor as Kenyan police return fire with their assault rifles through gun ports in the vehicle’s sides. Following nearly an hour of reciprocal shooting, the convoy proceeds. However, it is not long before further evidence of horrific gang violence appears: a human body burning in the street. A Kenyan police officer within our APC expressed suspicion that the victim was a gang member trapped and killed by an opposing faction, with his body then set ablaze as a grim warning. The Kenyan officers participating in our patrol are now accustomed to witnessing such brutality in Port-au-Prince, yet they also conveyed their exhaustion. Four hundred officers deployed in June, but they face overwhelming numerical disadvantage. In July, the Haitian government estimated the presence of 12,000 armed gang members nationwide. The Kenyans had been assured of supplementary personnel. When the UN sanctioned the mission, a force of 2,500 was projected, but this assistance, anticipated in November, has not yet materialized. Notwithstanding the circumstances, the mission’s leadership maintains an optimistic outlook. Commander Godfrey Otunge faces pressure from the Kenyan government to ensure the mission’s success. The mission commander asserts that there is “overwhelming support” for the MSS in Haiti. He adds, “The population are demanding that our team extend and go to other places and pacify.” The formidable challenge they confront is evident at a former Haitian police station, previously held by a gang but now recaptured by Kenyan forces. It remains completely encircled by gangs, and as officers ascend to the roof, they draw sniper fire. The Kenyan officers return fire while instructing everyone to stay low. The Kenyan officers indicate that some of their long-awaited additional forces are expected to arrive by year-end, increasing their total strength to 1,000. This support is critically required. Certain areas in Port-au-Prince are under such stringent gang control that they are almost inaccessible to the police. In Wharf Jérémie, one such locale, nearly 200 civilians were murdered by a single gang during one weekend in early December. Overall, an estimated 100 gangs are thought to be active in the Port-au-Prince region, with children as young as nine becoming members. Furthermore, the issue seems to be intensifying. The UN children’s agency, Unicef, reports that the recruitment of children into gangs has surged by 70% within a year. Among the gang leaders they join is Ti Lapli, whose actual name is Renel Destina. As the leader of the Gran Ravine gang, he directs over 1,000 individuals from his fortified base situated high above Port-au-Prince. Gangs such as his have worsened Haiti’s already severe circumstances and are notorious for perpetrating massacres, rapes, and terrorizing civilians. Gran Ravine is well-known for conducting kidnappings for ransom, an activity that has placed Ti Lapli on the FBI’s wanted list. Ti Lapli asserted that he and his gang members “love our country a lot” – yet, when questioned about the rapes and murders his gang inflicts on civilians, he stated his men “do things they weren’t supposed to do [to members of rival gangs] because the same is done to us.” He explained the reason children join Gran Ravine as straightforward: “The government doesn’t create any jobs, it’s a country with no economic activity whatsoever. We are living on trash, it’s basically a failed state.” He did not recognize the stifling effect that gangs like his exert on Haiti’s economy. Civilians, frequently fearful of leaving their residences for employment, are also routinely subjected to extortion. As 700,000 inhabitants have been compelled to abandon their homes because of the violence perpetrated by groups like Gran Ravine, the capital’s schools have been converted into shelters for internally displaced individuals. Negociant is among those who have sought refuge. She is seated with her five children, confined to a small portion of a school balcony that now serves as their dwelling. She recounted, “Just weeks ago I was living in my own house,” adding, “But gangs took over my neighbourhood.” She clarified that she relocated to a city district named Solino, until it too was seized by gangs, prompting her to flee alongside hundreds of others. She concluded, “Today, again, I’m on the run to save my life and my children.” Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content of external websites. Information regarding their approach to external linking is available.