A Kenyan police officer who was part of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission in Haiti on Sunday succumbed to gunshot injuries while receiving treatment in a hospital.
In a statement, MSS Force Commander Geoffrey Otunge said the officer was injured during an operation in Segur-Savien.
The officer was then airlifted to Aspen Level 2 Hospital but passed away while receiving treatment.
“Today, Sunday, February 23rd, 2025, one of our MSS officers from the Kenyan contingent was injured during an operation in SÉGUR – SAVIEN, in the Artibonite department. The officer was immediately airlifted to Aspen Level 2 Hospital but, unfortunately, succumbed to the injuries,” Otunge said in a statement.
This is the first casualty for the Kenyan team since they arrived on 25 June 2024 to help the Caribbean nation contain criminal gangs.
The Kenyan team is part of an international force authorized by the United Nations that will be made up of 2,500 officers from a number of countries.
Kenya has so far sent 800 police officers to Haiti, including 24 officers from the elite all-female SWAT team, with the latest contingent of 144 police officers arriving in the country on 7 February.
There are fears that even if the team succeeds in dislodging the gangs from this stronghold, the lack of an immediate and permanent police or army occupation will allow them to return quickly.
More than 5,600 people were killed in Haiti last year as a result of gang violence, about a thousand more than in 2023, according to the UN.
More than a million Haitians were forced to flee their homes, three times as many as the previous year.
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