The continually delayed [12] deployment of a Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission has raised concerns over how prepared the UN-approved and US-bankrolled force will be to face the security crisis in Haiti. An analysis from Insight Crime suggests the gangs have been using the extra time [17] to "fortify what could be a fierce response." A first contingent of about 200 Kenyan police officers was expected to land in the capital, Port-au-Prince, in late May, but its arrival was postponed [18] after an advance delegation from Kenya identified a shortage of equipment and infrastructure. In an interview [19] with the BBC, Kenyan President William Ruto said the deployment of 2,500 troops, including 1,000 Kenyan police officers, will now start mid-June.
But little is known on the rules of engagement and strategy to be put in place to fight the gangs [20], who control [21] most of the capital—even whether the force will directly engage [22] with the armed groups alongside the Haitian National Police. In the meantime, the gangs have not let up, killing three missionaries [23] (including an American couple), attacking more police stations [24], and trying to seize control of the Gressier commune in Port-au-Prince. They have also posted direct threats [13] to the MSS force and paraded their heavy weaponry [14] on social media. Amid reports of a large inventory of Colombian weapons [15] being sold to Haitian gangs, some experts worry that the firepower of the gangs has been underestimated.
From The New Humanitarian [25], May 31
