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The Bahamas would send 150 defense agents to Haiti if the United Nations (UN) approves such an offer. The news was released by the Bahamas Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a communiqué.
The Bahamas is the second country to offer police assistance to Port-au-Prince, after Kenya promised to send 1,000 policemen. “The Bahamas has committed to sending 150 people to support the multinational force once authorized by the United Nations Security Council”, the communiqué states.
So far, there has been little international response to the Haitian government’s request for international assistance to control the deep insecurity in the country. The support provided by the UN to the Caribbean country’s request, by launching another call on its own behalf, has not had a significant impact either.
Shortly after the Bahamas’ offer became known, the governments of both countries agreed on initial terms for the implementation of the police assistance. For this, as with Kenya’s offer, a fact-finding and assessment mission is needed, said Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry.\
“The Caribbean Community welcomes the decision taken by the Governments of The Bahamas and Jamaica to join Kenya to contribute to a multi-national force in the Republic of #Haiti to assist that nation to counter its security challenges.” https://t.co/FrFBl1Q0id #caricom
— Michael Deibert (@michaelcdeibert)
August 4, 2023
The Haitian government began talks with Kenya on Tuesday, August 1, on the fact-finding mission that the African country will send to support the Haitian authorities in their fight against armed gangs, an effort that would be joined by the Bahamas if the United Nations approves a multinational force.
“This morning I had a cordial and fruitful conversation with the President of Kenya, Williams Ruto, during which we discussed, among other things, the upcoming arrival of a fact-finding and assessment mission in Haiti”, announced Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, through various social networks.
“On behalf of the Haitian people, I took the opportunity to thank the President and the people of Kenya for this show of fraternal solidarity by saying that I was ready to take command of a multinational force mandated by the UN to restore security in Haiti”, he added.
It is known that the United States would have delegated the definition and needs of the multinational force for Haiti to Kenya on Tuesday, although it pledged to promote a UN Security Council resolution that covers that deployment.
Law enforcement forces in Haiti are waging a fierce battle against gangs. Armed National Police officers patrol with an armored vehicle during an operation against criminal gangs in the Tabare district of Port-au-Prince.
